As the world watches Russia attack its neighbor, it’s worth remembering that threats to freedom can come from within, too.  

Scotland’s newest Hate Crime Act is aimed at squashing any speech that critiques transgender ideology. Offenders face jail time, for up to seven years, for what’s being called “stirring up hatred.” Exactly what “stirring up hatred” means, of course, is the problem. Incredibly, the law not only applies to public spaces but to conversations held in one’s own home.  

Many in Scotland are rightly worried about the chilling effect this law would have on free speech, let alone how it would enable more of a police state. 

This is in stark contrast to a classical liberal view of liberty. As John Stuart Mill famously argued, free speech is the only defense against the “tyranny of the majority.” 

Christians have an additional reason to care about free speech. Loving our neighbor means defending their ability to speak without coercion… especially when those opinions are unpopular.