Whitehouse v Lemon

Whitehouse v Lemonis a 1977 court case involving theblasphemy law in the United Kingdom.It was the last successful blasphemy trial in the UK.

"The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name"

"The Love That Dares to Speak Its Name" is a poem byJames Kirkup.It is written from the viewpoint of a Romancenturionwho describes having sex withJesusafter his crucifixion, and also says that Jesus had had sex with other men including disciples, guards, andPontius Pilate.The poem itself was considered of low artistic value, both by critics and the author himself.

In 1976 the poem was published inGay News,with an accompanying illustration.

Prosecution

In early November 1976,Mary Whitehouseobtained a copy of the poem and announced her intention to bring aprivate prosecutionagainst the magazine. Leave to bring this prosecution was granted on 9 December 1976. The charges named Gay News Ltd and Denis Lemonas the publishers. A charge against Moore Harness Ltd for distributing was subsequently dropped. The indictment described the offending publication as "ablasphemous libelconcerning theChristianreligion, namely an obscene poem and illustration vilifyingChristin his life and in his crucifixion ".

The Gay News Fighting Fund was set up in December 1976. JudgeAlan King-HamiltonQCheard the trial at theOld Baileyon 4 July 1977, withJohn Mortimer QCandGeoffrey Robertson QCrepresenting the accused andJohn Smythrepresenting Mary Whitehouse.

Verdict and sentence

On Monday 11 July, the jury found both defendants guilty. Gay News Ltd was fined £1,000. Denis Lemon was fined £500 and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment suspended. It had been "touch and go", said the judge, whether he would actually send Denis Lemon to jail.

Mary Whitehouse's costs of £7,763 were ordered to be paid four-fifths by Gay News Ltd and one-fifth by Lemon.

Appeals

Gay News Ltd and Denis Lemon appealed against conviction and sentence. On 17 March 1978, the Court of Appeal quashed Denis Lemon's suspended prison sentence but upheld the convictions on the basis that the law of blasphemy had been developed beforemens rea,literally, a "guilty mind", became an essential element of a crime.

Gay Newsreaders voted by a majority of 20 to 1 in favour of appealing to theHouse of Lords.TheLaw Lordsheard the appeal against conviction and delivered their judgment on 21 February 1979.

At issue was whether or not the offence of blasphemous libel required specific intent of committing such a blasphemy. By a majority of 3 to 2, the Lords concluded that intention was not required.Lord Scarmanwas of the opinion that blasphemy laws should cover all religions and not just Christianity and soughtstrict liabilityfor those who "cause grave offence to the religious feelings of some of their fellow citizens or are such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely to read them".The appeal was lost.

TheEuropean Commission of Human Rightsdeclared the case inadmissible to be heard by theEuropean Court of Human Rightson 7 May 1982. The £26,435 raised by the Gay News Fighting Fund through benefits and donations from the gay community and others, including a £500 donation fromMonty Python,was sufficient to cover the costs of the trial and appeals.

Abolition of blasphemous libel as an offence

Blasphemous libel ceased to be a common law offence in England and Wales with the passing of theCriminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.

Later appearances of the poem

In 1996, theLesbian and Gay Christian Movementwas investigated by the police after publishing ahyperlinkto the Queer Resources Directory, an American website, that included a copy of the poem. In April 1997 the police declared that they did not intend to prosecute.The investigation was commented on by civil liberties groups as raising issues about whether linking constituted legally publication. However, it did not produce a legal precedent on the question as it did not go to court.

In 2002, a deliberate and well-publicised public repeat reading of the poem took place on the steps ofSt Martin-in-the-Fieldschurch inTrafalgar Square,London, without any incidents. Kirkup criticized the politicizing of his poem.

See also

• John William Gott
• List of works depicting Jesus as LGBT

References

• Cited as Whitehouse v Lemon [1979] 2 WLR 281; or Whitehouse v Gay News Ltd [1979] AC 617, HL
• Gay News Ltd. andLemon v United Kingdom[Eur Comm HR] 5 EHRR 123 (1982), App. No. 8710/79.

Further reading

• The poem as printed inGay News,from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hilllibrary
• Gay Newson Trial,Gay and Lesbian Humanist.
• Robertson, Geoffrey:The Justice GameVintage (1999);ISBN0-09-958191-4.
• The gay poem that broke blasphemy laws(10 January 2008) - summary of the case byPinkNews