Re. Jim Swan’s April 18 letter, headlined Pastor’s good deeds must not be forgotten:

Critics of human rights commissions purport to hold free speech as an absolute right, but complex issues require more than simplistic statements.

History warns us that opinions can incite others to violence. Being gay already means walking a daily minefield at schools, but what about when the verbal assaults come from people in positions of trust in our communities?

Swan described my complaint against a hateful letter published in this newspaper as “unkind and thoughtless,” but some facts of the case are helpful.

An incendiary letter was printed in the Advocate in 2002. It criticized gays, using militaristic language, warning ominously that “war has been declared” and “know this, we will defeat you.”

Swan implies this letter is worthy of protection, but we must consider its content and impact.

Writing with the moral authority of a pastor and youth centre director, the author singled out gays and those who support them as “morally bankrupt.”

The letter contained hallmarks of hate promotion, accusing gays of putting children at risk, linking them to disease and pedophilia. Even teachers and pastors who offer acceptance were declared “just as immoral as the pedophiles, drug dealers, and pimps that plague our communities.”

The letter ominously commanded readers to “take whatever steps are necessary to reverse the wickedness.”

Was this a loving expression of faith? Perhaps we could ask the Red Deer teenager attacked on his way home just two weeks later.

A youth asked him, “You’re a faggot, right?” and then shattered his cheekbone. The 17-year-old victim told a reporter he “didn’t feel safe” after reading the pastor’s letter.

After filing the complaint in July 2002, I’ve undergone a great deal of backlash, including a death threat.

I regularly receive vicious hate mail, and I was even sued for $400,000 by the author of the letter, who later dropped the nuisance action after I incurred significant legal fees.

Homophobic hate is thriving and, sadly, some comes from people calling themselves Christians.

Last July, I presented my complaint to a panel, chaired by a distinguished lawyer on the board of the rights commission. She is not, as Swan implies, an “activist” focused on “the destruction of organized religion.”

The panel listened to expert witnesses on both sides, and considered evidence and legal precedents.

Noted in the ruling was sworn evidence that the author of the letter actually knew the young man who had committed the assault on the boy in Red Deer. The assailant had been attending the youth centre run by the author of the letter during this period, and the pastor did nothing to censure his actions following the attack.

The ruling upheld my complaint and my faith in this government to protect basic rights; if words are likely to lead others to violence, they are unworthy of being published.

I spoke at a church recently and appreciated the pastor’s reminder: “Religious freedom must always be accompanied by a deep sense of responsibility to protect and stand with vulnerable groups.”

Our rights to free expression and religion are guaranteed by the charter, but no freedoms are absolute. When people stand up against hate to ensure the safety of vulnerable people, they need strong human rights commissions to support them.

The support of more people of faith wouldn’t hurt either.

Darren Lund

Calgary

Editor’s note: In fairness to Swan, he didn’t defend the letter written by Steven Boissoin. Instead, he criticized human rights commission for stifling freedom of speech and applauded the work the pastor did for Red Deer teenagers when he headed up the Upper Level Youth Centre.