John Richards, a retiree living in Boston (in England), decided to put the following sign on his door:

Religions are fairy stories for adults

Seems harmless. People display their religious beliefs on their property all the time — a cross in a window, a “god loves you” welcome mat, etc.

But, because he’s an atheist, the police are telling him he could be arrested for his “threatening” message:

[Richards] told The Standard: “The police said I could be arrested if somebody complained and said they were insulted, but the sign was up two years ago and nobody responded or smashed the window. “I am an atheist and I feel people are being misled by religion. I wanted to show people that if they thought they were alone there was at least one other person who thought that. “I accept that the police emphasised the words could lead to an arrest but the implication is a threat to free speech which surely should be fought.” The Public Order Act dictates that it is an offence to display any sign which is threatening, abusive or insulting, and could cause distress.

Apparently, a sign imploring adults to grow up is more offensive than a cross informing everyone who doesn’t believe in the fairy tale that they’re going to spend eternity in hellfire…

I think we just figured out a way to arrest every religious leader in England. Victory is ours!

… or we call the cops out for this witch-hunt. Because in a country that supports free speech, no one deserves punishment for simply stating the truth.

I would love to see other locals support Richards by creating their own signs proclaiming religion to be a fairy tale for adults and putting that up in every window of their house. Let’s see how that goes 🙂

(via New Humanist)



