More freedom of speech quandaries.

The European parliament passed a resolution on "homophobia in Europe" last week.  The text can be found here at ILGA.org.

The European parliament sez, among other things:

whereas homophobia manifests itself in the private and public spheres in different forms such as hate speech and incitement to discrimination, ridicule, verbal, psychological and physical violence as well as persecution and murder, discrimination in violation of the principle of equality, and unjustified and unreasonable limitations of rights, which are often hidden behind reasons of public order, religious freedom and the right to conscientious objection…

Did you catch that?  Homophobia, which is irrational, includes hate speech that is hidden behind… religious freedom.

So the EU says that it

Calls on Member States to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are protected from homophobic hate speech…

At the same time, bizarrely, it

Urges Member States and the Commission … to ensure that freedom of demonstration – guaranteed by all human rights treaties – is respected in practice.

But how can this be?  How can any group be protected from speech it doesn’t like, when freedom of demonstration is respected in practice?

I have a sneaking suspicion — supported, I think, by an earlier whereas in the text that has to do with the banning of gay pride marches — that the Parliament is only thinking to ensure the freedom of people to demonstrate their support of positions that are acceptable to the European Parliament.

This is not how it works, people.