When SBS flatly refused to broadcast an ad    for a Christian lobby group which claimed same-sex    marriages would force children to miss out on a mother or a    father during their Mardi Gras coverage, a few commentators    argued that the decision was a hasty blow against free    speech.  
    Not least of them was out gay Human Rights Commissioner    Tim Wilson, who describes the ad as    distasteful and inappropriate, but insists it should still have    screened.  
    Below, Melbourne secondary school teacher Alexandra    OBrien disagrees. How comfortable would these free    speech! defenders be if we were talking about a racist ad    instead?  
    It blows my mind when I see people using the old right to free    speech argument on social media as if this right gives    companies and individuals the power to incite hate and fear,    especially when using mass media outlets, such as the channel 7    and 9 anti-gay marriage ads which ran during Sydney Mardi Gras.  
    Im not going to endorse the institution of marriage here (hell    nah), however lets get one thing straight for all of you    closeted bigots out there who cry free speech when someone    points out the homophobic, or perhaps racist or sexist comment    that you are secretly supporting: No one, and I mean no one,    has the right to cause further harm to an already oppressed,    marginalised and vulnerable group.  
      There is no question that the LGBTIQ community, especially      its youth, need protection, not condemnation.    
    In relation to the anti-marriage equality ads, the Australian    Christian Lobby was happy to twist the statistics of one    peer-reviewed study to suit their agenda, but in doing so    they neglected that in a large queer specific study by The    Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre in partnership with    The University of Western Sydney it was found that 33% of    LGBTIQ youth have committed self harm, 64% have been verbally    abused, 42% have thought about self-harm and suicide, 16% have    attempted suicide and 18% have been physically abused. There is    no question that the LGBTIQ community, especially its youth,    need protection, not condemnation.  
    The old saying goes that a lie will go around the world while    the truth is pulling its boots on and so yes, there is cause    for restrictions of this so-called right to freedom of    speech, and that is when it is being used to cause harm to    oppressed and vulnerable people. Lets look to the European    Convention on Human Rights who states that freedom of    expression may be subject to restrictions or penalties and    dont freak out, in Australia these restrictions come in the    form of laws such as the sex discrimination act,    telecommunications law (to avoid menacing, harassing or    offensive communication), and the offensive language in public    act. These are all restrictions in place to protect  not to    endanger.  
    According to The Guardian commentator Nesrine Malik however, there is a    loophole. She argues that those who fancy themselves defenders    of free speech must be consistent in their absolutism, and    stand up for offensive speech no matter who is the target. So,    where are the ad campaigns demoting and attacking interracial    marriage, or indigenous rights and equity, or perhaps womens    and childrens rights to safety?  surely any such campaigns    would be valid and protected by the virtuous freedom of    speech argument? Oh wait, no they are not, because the general    population understands them to be unethical and harmful.  
    So, to you bigots who hide behind your self-entitled right to    freedom of speech, let the rest of us never forget the golden    rule: When you defend something, you are actually    endorsing it.  
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Politics: 'Free speech' defenders are endorsing homophobia