M2RB: Rod Stewart
If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
come on honey tell me so
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
come on honey tell me so
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
Christian preacher arrested on "hooligan charge" and locked in a cell for telling a passer-by he believes that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.
A Christian street preacher has been arrested and charged with a
public-order offence after saying that homosexuality was sinful.
Dale McAlpine was handing out leaflets to shoppers when he told a passer-by and a gay police community support officer that, as a Christian, he believed homosexuality was one of a number of sins that go against the word of God.
Mr McAlpine said that he did not repeat his remarks on homosexuality when he preached from the top of a stepladder after his leafleting.
But he has been told that police officers are alleging they heard him making his remarks to a member of the public in a loud voice that could be overheard by others.
Mr Mcalpine, 42, who earns about £40,000 a year in the energy
industry, was arrested and taken to the local police station in the back
of a police van after preaching in the Cumbrian town of Workington on
April 20.
After seven hours locked up in a cell, he was charged with using abusive or insulting words or behaviour contrary to the Public Order Act 1986, introduced in 1986 to tackle violent rioters and football hooligans. Christian campaigners have expressed alarm that the Public Order Act is being used to curb religious free speech.
Sam Webster, a solicitor-advocate for the Christian Institute, which is supporting Mr McAlpine, said it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.
“The police have a duty to maintain public order, but they also have a duty to defend the lawful free speech of citizens,” he said.
Christian campaigners said last night they were alarmed that the police seemed to be using legislation originally introduced to deal with violent and abusive rioters and football hooligans to curb free speech.
Neil Addison, a barrister and expert on religious law, said: ‘People should be able to express their opinions freely as long as their conduct is reasonable. In fact, it is part of the duty of the police to protect free speech.’
Dale McAlpine was handing out leaflets to shoppers when he told a passer-by and a gay police community support officer that, as a Christian, he believed homosexuality was one of a number of sins that go against the word of God.
Mr McAlpine said that he did not repeat his remarks on homosexuality when he preached from the top of a stepladder after his leafleting.
But he has been told that police officers are alleging they heard him making his remarks to a member of the public in a loud voice that could be overheard by others.
“My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said,
and I was charged under a law that doesn't apply.”
After seven hours locked up in a cell, he was charged with using abusive or insulting words or behaviour contrary to the Public Order Act 1986, introduced in 1986 to tackle violent rioters and football hooligans. Christian campaigners have expressed alarm that the Public Order Act is being used to curb religious free speech.
Sam Webster, a solicitor-advocate for the Christian Institute, which is supporting Mr McAlpine, said it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.
“Case law has ruled that the orthodox Christian belief that homosexual conduct
is sinful is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society."
“The police have a duty to maintain public order, but they also have a duty to defend the lawful free speech of citizens,” he said.
Christian campaigners said last night they were alarmed that the police seemed to be using legislation originally introduced to deal with violent and abusive rioters and football hooligans to curb free speech.
Neil Addison, a barrister and expert on religious law, said: ‘People should be able to express their opinions freely as long as their conduct is reasonable. In fact, it is part of the duty of the police to protect free speech.’
‘Dale is an ordinary,
everyday Christian with traditional views about sexual ethics. Some
people will agree with him, others will disagree. But it’s not for the
police to arrest someone just because others may disagree with what is
said.'
- Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian
Institute
Mr McAlpine’s ordeal began when he and two other Christians went to
the pedestrianised shopping precinct in the centre of Workington. He
took a small stepladder and a rucksack of Christian leaflets and met
full-time preacher Keith Bullock from Carlisle and a friend from his
evangelical church in Workington.
Mr Bullock began speaking from the stepladder outside a mobile phone shop close to
a number of stores and coffee bars. Mr McAlpine said he and his church colleague handed out to passers-by leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments or offering a ‘ticket to heaven’.
He recalled: ‘It wasn’t very busy, but within about five minutes I noticed two police community support officers in fluorescent waistcoats and blue peaked caps watching from about ten feet.’
Mr McAlpine said a woman came up to him and they became engaged in a debate about his faith, during which he says he recited a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians in the Bible, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery, drunkenness and homosexuality, as well as talking about repentance and salvation.
He and the woman were standing close to each other and he said he did not raise his voice. Mr McAlpine says that as the woman left, one of the two officers, PCSO Sam Adams, approached her and had a brief chat before walking towards him. Mr McAlpine asked Mr Adams if everything was OK.
According to Mr McAlpine, Mr Adams said there had been complaints and warned him that if he made racist or homophobic remarks he could be arrested. Mr McAlpine said:
‘The PCSO then told me he was gay and he was the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender liaison officer for the police. ‘I said, “It is still a sin”, and our conversation ended. It wasn’t a loud or aggressive conversation.’
Mr Adams has been a member of Cumbria police’s LGBT staff association and last year represented the force at the Gay Pride festival in Manchester, marching in the parade with a police dog named Whistle.
Soon after midday, Mr McAlpine took over from Mr Bullock on the stepladder and says he preached for about 20 minutes.
He said he mentioned drunkenness and adultery, and that religions such as Buddhism, Islam and even Roman Catholicism were not the way of salvation, but did not speak about homosexuality.
During the sermon he was heckled by a middle-aged man, who berated his colleague Mr Bullock, asking what right he had to preach that drunkenness was wrong.
At that point Mr Adams, who Mr McAlpine said had been talking on his radio, intervened, and the man left. A few minutes later three regular uniformed policemen arrived and Mr McAlpine said one asked him if he had made homophobic remarks. Mr McAlpine said he told the officers that, while he was not homophobic, he did believe homosexuality was a sin and there was no law against saying so.
‘I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong so I told myself to remain calm, but it was very intimidating,’ he recalled.
‘I was then arrested, read my rights and put into the back of a marked police van. When we got to the station they emptied my pockets, took my mobile and my belt and my trainers, so I was in my socks.’
Mr McAlpine was put in a cell and asked for his Bible. ‘I read it and sang hymns like Amazing Grace as loudly as I could,’ he said.
Police took his fingerprints, a palm print, a retina scan and a DNA swab. He eventually saw the duty solicitor and was interviewed by an officer in a room equipped with a table, four chairs and a recording device.
Mr McAlpine was told that the two PCSOs had alleged that they heard him shouting that homosexuality was a sin, which had distressed them and members of the public.
He was eventually charged under Sections 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986 and released on bail on the condition that he did not preach in public.
At a preliminary hearing on Friday in Workington magistrates’ court, Mr McAlpine pleaded not guilty and he is now awaiting a trial date. The two PCSOs are expected to attend as witnesses.
Shoppers in Workington were bemused by what had happened to Mr McAlpine.
The Public Order Act 1986 has been used by the police in a number of similar cases, including that of Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, the Christian hoteliers cleared earlier this year of insulting a Muslim guest at their Liverpool hotel.
In 2002 pensioner Harry Hammond was convicted under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. When preaching in Bournemouth, Mr Hammond held up a sign saying: ‘Stop Immorality’, ‘Stop Homosexuality’, ‘Stop Lesbianism’, ‘Jesus is Lord’.
In 2006, police arrested and charged Christian campaigner Stephen Green for handing out leaflets at a Gay Pride festival in Cardiff. The case was dropped.
Last night Cumbria police said there was no one available to comment on Mr McAlpine’s case.
Mr McAlpine – who has delivered open-air sermons and handed out leaflets in Workington for years, and has never been in trouble with the police – said the incident was one of the worst moments of his life.
‘I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know,’ he said.
‘My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn’t apply.’
He said he was not homophobic and has gay friends, but he feels compelled by his faith to urge people to abandon all types of sins so they can seek salvation.
‘If you are preaching hate and calling on people to harm others, it is right that is against the law,’ he said. ‘But I would never do that. If we have a free society, I should be allowed to preach the Gospel as generations have before me.’
Mr McAlpine was handing out leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments or offering a “ticket to heaven” with a church colleague on April 20, when a woman came up and engaged him in a debate about his faith.
During the exchange, he says he quietly listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness.
After the woman walked away, she was approached by a PCSO who spoke with her briefly and then walked over to Mr McAlpine and told him a complaint had been made, and that he could be arrested for using racist or homophobic language.
The street preacher said he told the PCSO: “I am not homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator”.
He claims that the PCSO then said he was homosexual and identified himself as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liaison officer for Cumbria police. Mr McAlpine replied: “It’s still a sin.”
The preacher then began a 20 minute sermon, in which he says he mentioned drunkenness and adultery, but not homosexuality. Three regular uniformed police officers arrived during the address, arrested Mr McAlpine and put him in the back of a police van.
At the station, he was told to empty his pockets and his mobile telephone, belt and shoes were confiscated. Police took fingerprints, a palm print, a retina scan and a DNA swab.
He was later interviewed, charged under Sections 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act and released on bail on the condition that he did not preach in public.
Mr McAlpine pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing on Friday at Workington magistrates court and is now awaiting a trial date.
The Public Order Act, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language likely to cause distress, has been used to arrest religious people in a number of similar cases.
a number of stores and coffee bars. Mr McAlpine said he and his church colleague handed out to passers-by leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments or offering a ‘ticket to heaven’.
He recalled: ‘It wasn’t very busy, but within about five minutes I noticed two police community support officers in fluorescent waistcoats and blue peaked caps watching from about ten feet.’
Mr McAlpine said a woman came up to him and they became engaged in a debate about his faith, during which he says he recited a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians in the Bible, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery, drunkenness and homosexuality, as well as talking about repentance and salvation.
He and the woman were standing close to each other and he said he did not raise his voice. Mr McAlpine says that as the woman left, one of the two officers, PCSO Sam Adams, approached her and had a brief chat before walking towards him. Mr McAlpine asked Mr Adams if everything was OK.
According to Mr McAlpine, Mr Adams said there had been complaints and warned him that if he made racist or homophobic remarks he could be arrested. Mr McAlpine said:
‘I told him I was not homophobic but sometimes I did say
that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator, but it
was not against the law to say this.'
‘The PCSO then told me he was gay and he was the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender liaison officer for the police. ‘I said, “It is still a sin”, and our conversation ended. It wasn’t a loud or aggressive conversation.’
If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, come on, sugar, let me know
Mr Adams has been a member of Cumbria police’s LGBT staff association and last year represented the force at the Gay Pride festival in Manchester, marching in the parade with a police dog named Whistle.
On the social networking site MySpace, Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Sam Adams describes his orientation as gay and his religion as atheist.
Soon after midday, Mr McAlpine took over from Mr Bullock on the stepladder and says he preached for about 20 minutes.
He said he mentioned drunkenness and adultery, and that religions such as Buddhism, Islam and even Roman Catholicism were not the way of salvation, but did not speak about homosexuality.
During the sermon he was heckled by a middle-aged man, who berated his colleague Mr Bullock, asking what right he had to preach that drunkenness was wrong.
At that point Mr Adams, who Mr McAlpine said had been talking on his radio, intervened, and the man left. A few minutes later three regular uniformed policemen arrived and Mr McAlpine said one asked him if he had made homophobic remarks. Mr McAlpine said he told the officers that, while he was not homophobic, he did believe homosexuality was a sin and there was no law against saying so.
‘I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong so I told myself to remain calm, but it was very intimidating,’ he recalled.
‘I was then arrested, read my rights and put into the back of a marked police van. When we got to the station they emptied my pockets, took my mobile and my belt and my trainers, so I was in my socks.’
Mr McAlpine was put in a cell and asked for his Bible. ‘I read it and sang hymns like Amazing Grace as loudly as I could,’ he said.
Police took his fingerprints, a palm print, a retina scan and a DNA swab. He eventually saw the duty solicitor and was interviewed by an officer in a room equipped with a table, four chairs and a recording device.
Mr McAlpine was told that the two PCSOs had alleged that they heard him shouting that homosexuality was a sin, which had distressed them and members of the public.
He was eventually charged under Sections 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986 and released on bail on the condition that he did not preach in public.
At a preliminary hearing on Friday in Workington magistrates’ court, Mr McAlpine pleaded not guilty and he is now awaiting a trial date. The two PCSOs are expected to attend as witnesses.
Shoppers in Workington were bemused by what had happened to Mr McAlpine.
‘He hands out leaflets, he says his piece and then he leaves,’ said Mr Logan. ‘He is not aggressive or threatening. He is gentle.’
- Rob Logan, the assistant manager of the O2 mobile phone store near where Mr McAlpine preached, said he had no complaints.
The Public Order Act 1986 has been used by the police in a number of similar cases, including that of Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, the Christian hoteliers cleared earlier this year of insulting a Muslim guest at their Liverpool hotel.
In 2002 pensioner Harry Hammond was convicted under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. When preaching in Bournemouth, Mr Hammond held up a sign saying: ‘Stop Immorality’, ‘Stop Homosexuality’, ‘Stop Lesbianism’, ‘Jesus is Lord’.
In 2006, police arrested and charged Christian campaigner Stephen Green for handing out leaflets at a Gay Pride festival in Cardiff. The case was dropped.
Last night Cumbria police said there was no one available to comment on Mr McAlpine’s case.
‘As
far as I am concerned, this is about free speech. If we arrested
everybody who said something we found offensive, everyone would be in
prison.’
- The Rev Arthur Bentley-Taylor, 68, vicar of the Emmanuel evangelical church where Mr McAlpine worships
Mr McAlpine – who has delivered open-air sermons and handed out leaflets in Workington for years, and has never been in trouble with the police – said the incident was one of the worst moments of his life.
‘I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know,’ he said.
‘My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn’t apply.’
He said he was not homophobic and has gay friends, but he feels compelled by his faith to urge people to abandon all types of sins so they can seek salvation.
‘If you are preaching hate and calling on people to harm others, it is right that is against the law,’ he said. ‘But I would never do that. If we have a free society, I should be allowed to preach the Gospel as generations have before me.’
Mr McAlpine was handing out leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments or offering a “ticket to heaven” with a church colleague on April 20, when a woman came up and engaged him in a debate about his faith.
During the exchange, he says he quietly listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness.
After the woman walked away, she was approached by a PCSO who spoke with her briefly and then walked over to Mr McAlpine and told him a complaint had been made, and that he could be arrested for using racist or homophobic language.
The street preacher said he told the PCSO: “I am not homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator”.
He claims that the PCSO then said he was homosexual and identified himself as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liaison officer for Cumbria police. Mr McAlpine replied: “It’s still a sin.”
The preacher then began a 20 minute sermon, in which he says he mentioned drunkenness and adultery, but not homosexuality. Three regular uniformed police officers arrived during the address, arrested Mr McAlpine and put him in the back of a police van.
At the station, he was told to empty his pockets and his mobile telephone, belt and shoes were confiscated. Police took fingerprints, a palm print, a retina scan and a DNA swab.
He was later interviewed, charged under Sections 5 (1) and (6) of the Public Order Act and released on bail on the condition that he did not preach in public.
Mr McAlpine pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing on Friday at Workington magistrates court and is now awaiting a trial date.
The Public Order Act, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language likely to cause distress, has been used to arrest religious people in a number of similar cases.
Harry Hammond, a pensioner, was convicted under Section 5 of the Act in 2002
for holding up a sign saying “Stop immorality. Stop Homosexuality. Stop
Lesbianism. Jesus is Lord” while preaching in Bournemouth.
Stephen Green, a Christian campaigner, was arrested and charged in 2006 for handing out religious leaflets at a Gay Pride festival in Cardiff. The case against him was later dropped.
Cumbria police said last night that no one was available to comment on Mr McAlpine’s case.
Stephen Green, a Christian campaigner, was arrested and charged in 2006 for handing out religious leaflets at a Gay Pride festival in Cardiff. The case against him was later dropped.
Cumbria police said last night that no one was available to comment on Mr McAlpine’s case.
NOTE: The "passer-by" was a HOMOSEXUAL POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER (PCSO) - no conflict of interest there. No sirree, Bob.
Related Reading:
Feminist Journo Charged with Hate Crime for Helping Muslim Woman with Groceries
Hitler's Ghost Haunts Europe
The Speech Police Eats Its Own
The Speech Police Eats Its Own II
Update on Norway: The Poison of Multiculturalism
If Only The Christian Street Preacher Had Said "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy?" To The Gay PCSO
Norway: A Tolerant, Inclusive, Diverse, Multicultural Society For Everyone...Except Jews
Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart
Sugar, sugar
She sits alone waiting for suggestions
He's so nervous avoiding all the questions
His lips are dry, her heart is gently pounding
Don't you just know exactly what they're thinking
If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
come on sugar let me know.
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on honey tell me so
Tell me so baby
He's acting shy looking for an answer
Come on honey let's spend the night together
Now hold on a minute before we go much further
Give me a dime so I can phone my mother
They catch a cab to his high rise apartment
At last he can tell her exactly what his heart meant
If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
come on honey tell me so
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
His heart's beating like a drum
'cos at last he's got this girl home
Relax baby now we are alone
They wake at dawn 'cos all the birds are singing
Two total strangers but that ain't what they're thinking
Outside it's cold, misty and it's raining
They got each other neither one's complaining
He say's I sorry but I'm out of milk and coffee
Never mind sugar we can watch the early movie
If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
come on sugar let me know
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on honey tell me so
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
If you really, really, really, really need me
just let me know
Just reach out and touch me
If you really want me
just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
If you really need me just reach out and touch me
come on sugar let me know
If you, if you, if you really need me
just come on and tell me so
