A Stitch in Haste

I wonder if Volokh would think it okay for me let loose on Jimmy Swaggart:

"I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."

Now here's where it gets really interesting: Although Swaggart made the remarks from his studio in New Orleans (ahem) -- the speech was broadcast both in the U.S. and Canada, where hate speech is a crime! (Horrendous notion, to be sure, but that's Swaggart's problem, not mine.)

More:

The CRTC [Canadian Radio Television Commission] investigation was prompted by a complaint by a viewer in Ottawa. It is not known if any complaints had been made in the US where the show appears on stations in all 50 states. A spokesperson for the FCC which regulates television in the US did not return calls for comment Sunday.

Toronto station Omni 1 reviewed the tape after a complaint was made. A spokesperson called the remarks "a serious breach" of Canadian broadcast regulations.

Omni 1 is owned by Rogers Communications, a conglomerate that controls the largest cable and cell phone companies in Canada and also owns television and radio stations and a publishing company.

Under Canadian law hate speech is a criminal offense. Broadcast lawyers say that both the station and Swaggart could be charged in addition to any penalty imposed by the CRTC.

Curious as to the total lack of MSM reporting on this.

I will update with some FCC and CRTC email addresses for would-be letter-writers after some research on Candadian law (where's Demmons when you need him?!?).

And of course, if Swaggart needs a tutorial on how to murder innocent people for no other reason that naked hatred, he could always look here.

POST SCRIPT: Did I just say "that's Swaggart's problem, not mine"? If I blog something in NYC that, through the Internet, reaches a Canadian reader and violates Canada's hate speech law... Ugh. I'm definitely going to research this.

UPDATE #1: The umbrella civil rights group CivilRights.org has picked up the story and issued a challenge to so-called "family advocacy groups":

The Task Force calls upon the leaders of last night's simulcast - Dr. James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Ted Haggard (National Association of Evangelicals), Richard Land (Director of the Religious Liberties and Ethics Division of the Southern Baptist Convention) - to immediately denounce anti-gay violence and specifically repudiate evangelist Jimmy Swaggert's [sic] statement.

Indeed. I will update with links to those organizations when I have a chance.

UPDATE #2: Volokh answers my question here (guess I picked the wrong post to send him today)...and gets taken down, twice, no, three times, in the process. So much for who has the higher blogging standards. See also Andrew Sullivan and Logos.

UPDATE #3: BoiFromTroy reminds us of the aesthetic perspective.

MAJOR UPDATE: Swaggart has "apologized"... sort of:

On Wednesday, Swaggart said he has jokingly used the expression "killing someone and telling God he died" thousands of times, about all sorts of people. He said the expression is figurative and not meant to harm. "It's a humorous statement that doesn't mean anything. You can't lie to God -- it's ridiculous," Swaggart told The Associated Press. "If it's an insult, I certainly didn't think it was, but if they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology."

Translation: I know my audience is full of rednecks, so I use redneck idioms when I speak to them. What's the big deal? It's just good ol' boy talk.

Of course, in a society where one can no longer use the words "niggardly" or "gypped," the notion that "kill him and tell God he died" is, in Swaggart's view, "humorous" does not warrant a reply.

I will continue to monitor developments as to FCC and Canadian penalties.