Vote No in unnecessary blasphemy referendum

ARTICLE 40 of the Irish Constitution is titled ‘Fundamental Rights’, so when section 6 states that the publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious or indecent matter is an offence, these offences are against the fundamental rights of the citizen.

So, as a citizen, I have a right to be protected against blasphemous matter which by definition insults the God whom I revere. But it also insults and offends me profoundly. Likewise seditious and indecent matter threaten my rights to safety and decency. So why remove the word ‘blasphemous’ and not all three offences?

I suggest we vote No to this unnecessary and defective referendum and let all three offences remain. We then avoid perceived discrimination against sincere believers in the existence of a transcendent power. Margaret M Reid Address with editor