Judge may rule on sodomy ad
A RULING by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA] to uphold its decision that an advert taken out by Sandown Free Presbyterian Church was "homophobic" is set to be taken to judicial review.
Sandown minister the Rev David McIlveen said the congregation would challenge the verdict.
He said: "As a church we are disappointed that the ASA has rejected our appeal to have their initial adjudication reversed."
The original ASA adjudication found that the advert – which quoted Biblical texts against homosexuality – was "indecent".
The advert, published by the News Letter last summer, was entitled The Word of God Against Sodomy and encouraged people to attend a protest at Belfast's annual Gay Pride Parade.
The ASA said it received seven complaints that the advert was offensive, while six asserted it was likely to provoke violence.
In its reviewed adjudication the authority said: "We considered that the complainants were justified in believing that some of the text used in the ad was homophobic, implying that homosexual people were perverted and an abomination.
"We concluded that the ad would be likely to and had caused serious offence on grounds of sexual orientation and that insufficient care had been taken to avoid causing such offence."
Mr McIlveen said: "In attempting to address their flawed adjudication they have changed the emphasis: from concept of the advertisement causing widespread offence to the advertisement causing serious offence.
"At no time did the Kirk Session of Sandown Presbyterian Church set out to deliberately offend anyone.
"It should be remembered the advertisement was prompted by the carrying of a placard in the Gay Pride parade of 2007 stating 'Jesus is a fag' – a fact that both the ASA and the independent reviewer sought to ignore."
The clergyman said the revised adjudication upheld the right of any organisation to express its views, including paid-for advertising.
"This is in contrast to the independent reviewer's written comment to our church on March 10 when he stated: 'I think it was reasonable for the council to consider that codes of conduct and sanctions laid down in Biblical works from several millennia ago may not be communicated verbatim and indiscriminately in 21st century advertising'.
"This is a great offence to every Bible-believer, from a reviewer who professes to defend the offended.
"We take great exception to the council's conclusion that the advertisement implied that homosexual people were perverted and an abomination.
"The council clearly fails to appreciate that it was the act of sodomy in which our opposition was directed."
He added: "It is clear to us that there is a lack of appreciation, both on the part of the council and the independent reviewer, to Biblically-related matters.
"In fact we are of the opinion that both showed unnecessary hostility to the position of the church and we sincerely believe that the chairman of the council and the reviewer should seriously consider their position."
An ASA spokesman said: "The ruling is that the advertisement in its current form should not appear again."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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