A Green Party politician from Ireland is going viral for her speech explaining why it is important to curb free speech rights in order to protect people who might be offended by speech about transgender identity.
Senator Pauline O’Reilly made the comments in a speech from June, but they went viral over the weekend after rioting erupted over a stabbing attack allegedly committed by an Algerian migrant targeting children. O’Reilly was arguing in favor of a bill that would allow the government to punish people for hate speech.
“When you think about it, all law, all legislation is about the restriction of freedom. That’s exactly what we are doing here. Is we are are restricting freedom but we’re doing it for the common good.
You will see throughout our constitution, yes you have rights, but they are restricted for the common good. Everything needs to be balanced,” O’Reilly continued.
The bill would allow the government to restrict speech that is deemed to incite hatred against “the gender which a person expresses as the person’s preferred gender or with which the person identifies and includes transgender and a gender other than those of male and female.”
It also bans speech that would condone or grossly trivialize genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime.
“If your views on other people’s identities go to make their lives unsafe, insecure and cause them such deep discomfort that they cannot live in peace then I believe that it is our job, as legislators, to restrict those freedoms, for the common good,” O’Reilly said.
If the law is approved, those who violate the new speech rules can be subject to fines or jail time.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Ireland, and 34 people were arrested. A woman and a 5-year-old girl remained hospitalized with serious injuries while two other child victims were released from the hospital after receiving treatment.
Here’s a video of the speech:
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