Canadian anti-gay group member sports ‘I will kill you’ sweater for Halloween
A member of Canadian group ATG (“Anti Gay”) was spotted wearing a sweater saying he’d “kill” any gay person who approached him.
The group, based in Ottawa, said they are unrepentant about the aggressive shirt, which went viral on Facebook.
It reads: “If you’re gay, don’t approach me. I’ll kill you”.
Julien Clément, the ATG member who wore the shirt on a night out for Halloween, told French-Canadian media: “I hate gays for real…I hate gays.”
Clément was spotted at a haunted house event. He was reported to event staff, who have filed a report with local belief. It remains to be seen whether this will classify as hate speech and Clément will be charged.
A fellow member of ATG, Yan Miller, says it’s a matter of free speech.
“It sucks that we’re not allowed to have whatever we want,” says Miller.
“They can have a gay flag or a parade, but we can’t have a shirt?
“I’m not homophobic, I’m not scared of them,” Miller commented.
Criminal defence lawyer Paul Lewandowski said: “In my view, the shirt, when it starts saying things like ‘if you approach me, I will kill you’ and you’re the member of an identifiable group, in this case somebody who’s homosexual, then yes, it could constitute Section 319 of the Criminal Code and could be prosecuted.”
Conversely, Justin Trudeau, prime minister for Canada, has shown eagerness to improve equality for LGBT people living in Canada.
In June this year, he said he would lower the age of consent for anal sex down from 18, to 16, as it is from normal intercourse.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a far-reaching apology to those convicted of historic gay sex offences, also this year.
