Although it is illegal in Britain to incite racial hatred, there is at present no equivalent ban on inciting hatred against the lesbian and gay community. But the pressure group OutRage! hopes that singers who have become notorious for lyrics urging the burning, shooting and battering of gays could be prosecuted under the Public Order Act of 1986.
‘I am preparing a dossier for the police and asking them to prosecute the singers, record companies and distributors on charges of inciting violence against lesbians and gay men,” said Peter Tatchell of OutRage!
‘Our objection is not so much to the homophobia of the lyrics, but their specific encouragement of attacks on gay people.
‘In a democratic society people have a right to criticise homosexuality. This does not include advocating the murder of lesbians and gay men.”
He insisted that it was not a question of censorship, adding: ‘If a gay singer such as George Michael urged the killing of black men he would be prosecuted immediately. These artists, in contrast, are allowed to urge the shooting and burning of queers.”
Last month the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir David Calvert-Smith, told a parliamentary select committee that it should be possible to prosecute such cases under the Public Order Act, but that he had not been sent files by police.
Calvert-Smith’s office has launched a crackdown on homophobic crime and announced that offenders would be treated with ‘zero tolerance”. It said a homophobic element would be an aggravating factor making the crime more serious.
OutRage! is focusing on Capelton, TOK, Elephant Man and Beenie Man, who have scored hits in Jamaica and elsewhere with homophobic tracks. Beenie Man has apologised for some of his comments, but Tatchell said he had included him in the file.
Log On by Elephant Man includes the words: ‘Log on and step pon chi chi [gay] man … Dance wi a dance and a bun [burn] out a freaky [gay] man.†—