Ireland goes from bad to worse, but blasphemy?

I'm afraid I'm well past the stage of thinking that anything good could come out of Ireland, but I had expected a delicate equilibrium between the extremes of good and bad. Nothing prepared me for the news that Ireland is preparing to bring out a law on blasphemy to back up an unenforceable clause in the nation's constitution.

The clause Dermot Ahern wishes to add to the Defamation Bill states: "A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000."

Can anyone seriously support such a draconian and unnecessary curtailment of freedom of speech? Are we really regressing to the miserable state of Ireland in the 1930s with its total submission, in lieu of the Brits, to the Catholic Church?

These religious folks who assert they have to be protected from other people's verbal attacks really are pathetic. In spite of believing they will have eternal life and various other rewards for their beliefs, they have to be protected from ridicule and insult. We mustn't upset their cosy, sanctimonious smugness. Why the hell not? We (by which I mean free thinkers, agnostics, atheists, humanists, and others) are the ones who need protecting. We've been burnt, tortured, denied basic human rights, ridiculed, sidelined, and cast out, etc., etc. by religious monstrosities since time immemorial. We're constantly criticised by them. Let's have legislation protecting us from religious institutions that want to deny women equality with men and reproductive rights, exterminate homosexuals, etc.; the list is endless. Why shouldn't I say that I think that if the God of the Bible exists, for example, he is a sadist of the first order? He created mankind with a built-in flaw, so the holy writ runs, that predisposes us to sin, so He has his fun when we sin because then we burn forever in excruciating agony. If this is the Christian God, I want none of Him and I want the right to make fun of everything to do with the religions created in his name. (It's also worth remembering that the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center did so for their religious beliefs. Am I really to be prevented from ridiculing these beliefs, even if it offends more moderate brethren?)

If Ireland passes this bill with the blasphemy clause, it will not only be a laughing stock, it will also make Ireland a profoundly dangerous place for anyone with real independence of mind and spirit.

picture taken without permission from http://atheistnexus.org/profile/JamesMMartin