A Labour Party-run council in England has sparked outrage by proposing a sweeping injunction that would ban Christian street preachers and jail them for up to two years.
Ordinary Christians could also be targeted for causing “alarm and distress.”
Rushmoor Borough Council which takes in the southern English towns of Farnborough and Aldershot, wants to outlaw preaching, praying and distributing Bibles in public spaces.
Christians would be banned from singing, praying for individuals without prior consent and laying hands on people in prayer — even with permission.
It would also be illegal to “approach anyone for the purpose of engaging them in a discussion about religion or belief.”
So would: “Engaging in street preaching which is hostile towards anyone with the protected characteristic of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.”
For two years, the council has sought a legal injunction to enforce the ban.
It justified the action by citing a number of complaints from members of the public.
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC) successfully challenged the move as “disproportionate and unlawful” to allow the council more time to rewrite the injunction while seeking “greater consultation” with local Christians.
Street preacher Sally McGuinness, said: “If this is not stopped in its tracks now, it will spread and be terrible for Christian freedoms and freedom in general in this country.”
“it is unashamedly stopping the Gospel being shared and treating us like unwanted criminals.”
Other street preachers argue that while a small minority may be overly zealous, the majority offer valuable support to the homeless and vulnerable and peacefully share the Gospel — a tradition long protected in the UK.
CLC chief executive Andrea Williams vowed to “challenge any other legislation the council tries to bring in which attempts to silence and criminalise the Christian faith.”
The council said it “began this action in response to a significant number of complaints from residents and businesses about the behaviour of some street preachers in Farnborough and Aldershot town centres over nearly two years.”
“The council would like to emphasise that we understand the sensitive nature of this issue and the legal action is not intended to prevent peaceful groups of any faith, including Christianity, from preaching, or in any way prevent freedom of speech.”
“The council is committed to reviewing the proposed injunction and we will shortly be meeting with a group of faith and community group leaders, who we consult with regularly, on a range of different issues, to help us with this process.”
