(LifeSiteNews) – A world-famous American senator has warned Ireland that its proposed new hate speech legislation will hurt the country.
On December 12, Senator J.D. Vance penned a robust letter to Irish ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason over proposed plans in Ireland to introduce “authoritarian” hate speech legislation soon. Vance believes if the hate speech bill is legislated it will “severely undermine freedom of speech” in Ireland.
The Ohio Senator, author of 2016 bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, told the ambassador that the incoming censorship bill is “full of vague prohibitions that would chill important public debate if they were to become law, particularly with respect to the most controversial and publicly significant matters.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, expressed grave concern over the strong possibility that Irish citizens would fall silent on public issues if the bill is enacted.
“If those citizens self-censor to protect themselves from persecution, Ireland will be robbed of the meaningful public discourse that all democracies need,” said Vance.
Vance also took issue with “frightening broad sweep” comments from a supportive legislator of the bill. In June, Irish Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly made a speech in the Irish Senate outlining how the censorship bill will protect people of ethnicity and gender from feeling “such deep discomfort.” In a video that went viral, she said that “restricting freedom” is for the “common good.”
Vance highlighted to the Irish ambassador that the United States “routinely condemns censorious conduct from China, Myanmar, or Iran” and has not yet condemned policymakers in Ireland over the proposed bill. He expressed worry that “one of our closest friends, a democracy dedicated to upholding cherished freedoms, should undertake such legislation.”
The pro-life senator concluded his robustly worded letter by asking Ambassador Nason “what steps” she will take to “ensure that Ireland’s departure from fundamental values like freedom of expression does not damage its relationship with the United States.”
The unpopular Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 (the Hate Speech Bill) will criminalize any speech in Ireland that is “likely to incite hatred, or violence” against protected groups or group of persons on account of certain characteristics.”
Merely possessing “hateful” content on your devices or on signs, posters and banners that could incite “hatred” could lead to criminal charges with police authorities given extra powers to seize all electronic devices, including phones, laptops, and tablets, and force individuals to hand over passwords under conditions of the pending bill.
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Since the horrific knife attack on innocent schoolchildren and a daycare worker by an Algerian immigrant in central Dublin on November 23 and subsequent riots, the Irish government have prioritized introducing “hate speech” legislation to silence growing dissent across the country about immigration policies.
The Irish government and Garda (police) Commissioner Drew Harris have blamed the riots on the so-called “far-right” and have vowed to crack down on anti-immigration protests. In a speech after the Dublin riots, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar warned dissenting anti-immigration voices that the “full resources of the law” including “hate speech” legislation and new police measures, such as facial recognition technology, will be used to “go after them individually.”
Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who is pushing to fast-track the freedom-curbing bill through the Irish parliament, was recently unable to define what “far-right’ means when asked during a Oireachtas (i.e., government) Joint Committee meeting on crime.
In a waffling response, Minister McEntee was unsure “if there is a definition” of “far-right.” She continued by saying, “We have seen people to be anti-government, anti-state, anti-immigration, anti-women’s rights, amongst other things. That would be my own particular view of those who claim [sic] to be far-right.”
RELATED: Ireland vows to crack down on ‘hate speech’ after knife attack by Algerian immigrant
The erroneous anti-free speech legislation has received notable international attention, especially in the USA. Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and most recently X (formerly Twitter) told his online followers that “suppression of the Irish people is the real crime” and that even “having a meme on your phone” could be deemed a criminal offence.
American journalist Tucker Carlson commented that Ireland is “completely transformed by immigration” and that critics of government immigration policy “will be guilty of a felony” under the draconian bill.
After penning his letter to the Irish ambassador in Washington, Vance told his online followers that “Ireland is a beautiful country with wonderful people. I hope they don’t destroy ancient liberties out of a desire to eliminate ‘offensive’ ideas.”