Thrown into the cells and dragged to court... just for quoting the Bible!
Free speech row as pastor held by zealous cops
A STREET pastor was accused of hate crime and locked up by police – after preaching from the Bible.
Born-again Christian Gordon Larmour found himself on the wrong side of the law after telling the story of Adam and Eve on a busy Scottish high street.
The 42-year-old was preaching in the centre of Irvine, Ayrshire, when he was asked by a drunken youth – who is openly gay – ‘What does God think of homosexuality?’
The preacher referred to the Book of Genesis and stated that God had created Adam and Eve to produce children.
Minutes later he was being bundled into the back of a police van accused of breach of the peace and assault ‘aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation’ – despite not swearing or using any form of offensive language.
Forced to spend a night in custody, the father of one appeared in court charged with homophobic hate crime and faced a six-month ordeal – before a sheriff last month cleared him of any blame.
His case has become a rallying point for Christian campaigners and last night critics warned freedom of speech was being stifled by ‘political correctness’ and ‘overzealous policing’.
Yesterday a defiant Mr Larmour told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘I can’t see why I was arrested in the first place – it was a massive overreaction and a waste of everyone’s time.
‘The police didn’t listen to me. They took the young homosexual guy’s side straight away and read me my rights.
‘I feel they try so hard to appear like they are protecting minorities, they go too far the other way. I want to be able to tell people the good word of the Gospel and think I should be free to do so. ‘I wasn’t speaking my opinions – I was quoting from the Bible.’ The Scottish Conservatives questioned why the case made it to court. A party spokesman said: ‘A more commonsense approach should have been applied. ‘Given the pressures on police resources and on our prosecution service, the public will rightly question
‘Try so hard to appear to protect minorities’
if this alleged crime should even have made it to court.’
Alex Wild, research director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Resources that could have been put towards worthwhile activities have been squandered, and this approach to policing is insulting to victims of genuine crimes.’
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: ‘It is a great relief that the judge ruled in favour of Gordon, because the case simply did not stand up to scrutiny.’
Christian evangelist Mr Larmour has been a street preacher for seven years. Around 7.30pm on July 17 last year he was handing out leaflets on Irvine’s High Street when a group of young men passed him. He told them: ‘Don’t forget Jesus loves you and He died for your sins.’
One asked Mr Larmour, ‘What does your God say about homosexuals?’
A row ensued. Mr Larmour claims he was chased by the young man but when police arrived, it was he who was arrested.
He said: ‘The boy went off on one. He was drunk and he was swearing.
‘I could feel things were going the wrong way so I walked away. I did turn around and I said to the boy, “Don’t forget to repent your sins, because there is a Heaven and Hell and a Judgment Day”.
‘He came running across the road and he went to hit me so I just said, “I don’t want any bother”. Then police came and he told them a pack of lies.
‘He was very drunk at the time and he claimed that I was chasing him and pushed him but all I did was answer his question about what God says about homosexuals in the Bible.
‘I feel a bit sorry for the lad as he was drunk and very angry and upset.
‘I think the police should have handled it differently and listened to what I had to say. They should have calmed the boy down and left it at that.
‘In court the boy’s friend told the truth – that I hadn’t assaulted him or called him homophobic names. I had simply answered his question and told him about Adam and Eve and Heaven and Hell.
‘Preaching from the Bible is not a crime.’
At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last month, Sheriff Alistair Watson ruled there was no case to answer and acquitted Mr Larmour of breach of the peace aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation.
The sheriff also found him not guilty of a second charge of assault aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation.
‘Preaching from the Bible is not a crime’