Of course, but where is the balance? There is the danger that as religious adherents react violently to criticism of their favourite superstitions freedom of speech will be progressively eroded. Religion is an abstraction it has no rights to be violated and it cannot suffer, if religious individuals are offended by ridicule or criticism it's their problem.

The RRTA is fundamentally flawed because it addresses the *wrong* problem. Inciting ridicule, contempt or hatred towards people on the basis of them promoting revolting, contemptous or plain stupid racial or religious beliefs should *not* be a problem. Indeed it ought to be encouraged.

What is really needed is for an improvement and expansion on defamation law so individuals who have suffered demonstrable harmed by lies made concerning their group membership. That would be *just*
legislation.

It is wrong to to lie about person's racial or religious beliefs or practises. That causes clear and demonstrable harm to a person. They *deserve* the right to sue for damages.

It is right to truthfully point out that certain racial or religious beliefs and practises are inhumane, revolting and ridiculous. If they advocate such beliefs and practises then they are *deserving*
of criticism,

Let me break the law right here and now and give some examples of banned speech under the legislation.

The practise of involuntary genital mutilation upon women is revolting, loathesome and detestable. People who advocate such practises on the basis of cultural difference, racial history or religion rites are deserving of hatred and contempt. I encourage and
incite others to express the same.

Claims that that the Earth is flat, homosexuality is a crime equal to eating of prawns, those who work on the Sabbath should be put to death, that staffs can become serpents, stones can become camels, and people can talk with ants are deserving of extreme ridicule. Those who, as a matter of religious beliefs, claim that their "holy text" is the result of perfect divine revelation, are ridiculous (and possibly dangerous) individuals and deserve to be considered as such. I encourage and incite others to express the same.

Lev

You should also include in your list that people who murder the unborn, teach that we came from apes and scare the heck out of kids with global warming crap should be jailed.

OMG a creationist in the flesh. Runner, run back and hide under your rock until judgement day as yours is the kingdom of heaven and not of this earth. Leave the real world to the rest of us.

Hey runner - newsflash! You are exactly the kind of person Lev was talking about... what's your position on homosexuality, runner?

Tend to agree with the tenor of the responses to date. Islam is going to have to come to terms with the fact that, just like every other religion, secular society owes it no respect whatsoever. Its adherents of course, are entitled to respect, but not their idiotic belief systems, which are fair game. That is a subtle distinction (too subtle for some I suspect) but an important one

Runner,

1) Murder is, by definition, illegal killing. If abortion is legal it isn't murder. Go on, look up a dictionary.

2) Evolution and taxonomy teaches that homo sapien sapiens ARE apes, members of the hominoidea superfamily of primates, which includes humans.

3) The earth is warming. That is a matter of fact. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png

I would be quite prepared to go to jail for expressing this knowledge as well. I'm suppose you're just the sort of person that would love to jail a person for expressing these facts? After all, if you can't 'win' an argument, it's better to get rid of a person than admit you might be wrong, isn't it?