Monday, September 29, 2014

Pennsylvania Teen Faces Prison for Blasphemy Charges


Reads scoff at me when I equate the Christofascists and some of America's antiquated laws with milder version of ISIS and other nations where blasphemy statutes can lead to prison terms or far worse.  But a pending case in Pennsylvania underscores that my comparison of Christofascists and some of America's laws with something out of the Middle East is more on point than many Americans care to admit.  What makes the situation even more outrageous is that the owner of the religious object involved did not want to prosecute.  Rather, the jihad is being driven by a prosecutor who obviously is anxious to prostitute himself to far right voters.  KRON TV4 has details on the initial story:
Pennsylvania (KRON) — A Pennsylvania teenager is facing criminal charges after posting pictures to Facebook of him simulating a sex act with a statue of Jesus.

The young man posted that he took the pictures in late July at the statue of a kneeling Jesus in front of the “Love in the Name of Christ” Christian organization in his hometown of Everett.

The criminal charge, which will be heard in family court, consists of “Desecration of a Venerated Object.” 

Pennsylvania law defines desecration as “Defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise, physically mistreating in a way that the actor knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the action.”

The teen, whose name has not been released, could face up to two years in a juvenile jail if convicted.
Joe My God has details on recent events and a protest against the ridiculous Pennsylvania law.    Here are highlights:
Remember the teenager in Pennsylvania who faces two years in juvenile detention for posing on a statue of Jesus? This happened this weekend:

A successful protest, where several dozen people rallied in favor of free speech, was marred on Saturday, when a belligerent group of counter protesters, including two from what appeared to be a motorcycle gang, crashed the demonstration and threatened those in attendance, including a 14-year old boy arrested for “desecrating” a Jesus statue and Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. Incredibly, there was not a single police officer on-hand to prevent potential violence and this left the protesters vulnerable to thugs and forced them to fend for themselves. “The Bedford police placed us directly in harms way and their inaction nearly caused a full-blown melee,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “This is the first time in two decades of protesting that I’ve been put directly in harm’s way by town officials. We call on Bedford to immediately review its policies for protecting the free speech rights of those who demonstrate in their town.”
What is truly disturbing is that no damage was done to the Jesus statute and, again, the owners did not want to press charges.  One has to wonder if next Pennsylvania will legalize the stoning of adulterers or those using curse words involving the Trinity?  Meanwhile, of course, the Christofascists are free to lie and spread hate and division without any accountability.  The prosecution needs to be dropped and the statute repealed.  Far too much deference has been given to individuals like this one:


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