Germany bids to outlaw denial of Holocaust across continent

[kskiska]

· Nazi symbols and racist speech 'should be banned'
· Prince Harry's fancy dress would have broken la

Germany yesterday moved to outlaw denial of the Holocaust, the parading of Nazi symbols, and racist speech across Europe, using a meeting of EU interior and justice ministers to call for jail terms of up to three years for the offences.

At a meeting in Dresden in eastern Germany, Brigitte Zypries, the German justice minister, demanded that Holocaust denial and the sporting of Nazi symbols be criminalised across the EU.

A European commission official noted that had the practices been outlawed earlier, Prince Harry would have been in breach of the law in 2005 when he was photographed in a Wehrmacht uniform with a Nazi swastika armband.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1991084,00.html

[Matilda]

1. I can't agree with this type of legislation

Holocaust deniers may be unpleasant and even totally mad, but where do you draw the line when you
try to limit free expression? They aren't actually causing physical harm to anybody with their
beliefs, any more than flat-earthers are.

By all means try to curb racist taunts and calls to violence, but let these nutters go their own
way. The evidence is there for all to see, and locking people up for what they profess to believe
certainly won't change their minds.

As for Prince Harry, no sensible person could convict him of anything more than bad taste and
stupidity. Should he have been locked up for what he did? It's just too stupid for words.

[orleans]

2. where do they draw the line with such a thing? i understand, too, them

wanting to discourage people from wearing this shit but then are they going to start telling people what they should wear?

i've never been a big fan of dress codes.

or a big fan to squelch free speech. (even if i think the person talking is a complete asshole.)

[Missy M]

3. How can you outlaw stupidity.....

denial of the Holocaust just shows how ignorant you are willing to be. I would rather know who the racists are instead of them wearing pointed hoods hiding their identity.

[sutz12]

4. I think outlawing it just gives credibility to those idiots who believe it. nt

[sendero]

5. The antidote...

... to free (lies) speech is more speech, not laws.

I don't understand how anyone can really think that outlawing an idea or belief is a good idea.

We need more Democracy in the world, not less. Laws like this are undemocratic, period.

[leesa]

6. Why are we not allowed to discuss this topic? If it is meritless it will be

laughed out of existence or thrown out of town. It seems there is plenty of proof for the historical events, why the fear?