This Christian Father of Seven Just Won a Huge Victory for Free Speech in Australia

Caleb Stephen : Feb 7, 2017
LifeSiteNews.com

Not only does the ruling in his case set a judicial precedent for the future, but it also provides hope for all Australians fighting in the trenches for free speech.

(Australia)—[LifeSiteNews] An Australian Catholic father of seven has won his case in New South Wales after he was accused of vilification for publicly objecting to what he believed was the blatant promotion of homosexuality. (Photo: Bernard Gaynor/via LifeSiteNews.com)

Bernard Gaynor, a former military man and outspoken free-speech campaigner, received a favorable judgment last week in his battle with the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board and the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

"The New South Wales Court of Appeal handed down a judgment that effectively ended three years of progressive totalitarian action against me—and all Australians who dare to express conservative views," Gaynor said in a media release. "This victory could not have come without your support. As such, it is not mine. It belongs to all of us."

The judgment ended nearly three years of costly legal action and effectively terminated 32 complaints (many of which were duplicates) for opposition to homosexual "marriage" brought against Gaynor by Australia's most notorious gay, self-described "anti-free speech" activist, Garry Burns...

One of the complaints against Gaynor came after he objected on his blog to naked gay men exposing themselves to children at the Toronto Pride Parade in Canada. Another resulted from pointing out remarks made by an Australian judge who legitimized incest, saying it was "no longer taboo" because of the cultural embrace of homosexual behavior.

"He [Burns] has lodged more complaints in New South Wales history than anybody else," Gaynor noted. "In fact, he has lodged almost all the homosexual vilification complaints in NSW history."

In a telephone interview on Monday with LifeSiteNews, Gaynor said, "I've fought this case very hard for three years now and I think this case sets a huge precedent," he said.

Up until the ruling, Gaynor faced the prospect of fronting what he calls a "kangaroo court" after being ordered to issue a formal apology and pay fines up to $1.6 million to Burns. Failure to do so would be considered contempt and would have resulted in Gaynor's imprisonment.

A "kangaroo court" is a judicial tribunal or assembly that blatantly disregards recognized standards of law or justice, and often carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides.

"First of all, this matter ends the tyranny of the NSW anti-discrimination board and its serial complainants from attempting to launch complaints against anybody in Australia and holding them to account against NSW law," he said. "Secondly it provides great hope to the many, many Australians who want to see these anti-discrimination laws scrapped."

For now, the ruling still allows costly action against New South Wales' residents who dare to express conservative views on marriage and family.

"I am disappointed that the arguments on political communication and religious freedom weren't considered. The judges only ruled on jurisdiction and those battles will come another day," he said.

"The key takeaway is that we should not be afraid of fighting anti-discrimination laws particularly because it is becoming increasingly evident that the anti-discrimination body themselves are operating entirely outside the law. They are unconstitutional. They are nothing more than political thought police."

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