An American pastor who said governments should execute gay people and welcomed a shooting at a gay nightclub has become the first person to be banned from entering Ireland under a 20-year-old law.
The Irish government acted after more than 14,000 people signed an online petition calling for Steven Anderson, who has called gay people โa bunch of disgusting perverts and paedophilesโ, to be stopped from preaching in Ireland on May 26.
Justice and equality minister Charlie Flanagan issued the order โin the interests of public policyโ, according to an emailed statement.
Anderson was unavailable for comment.
The pastor responded to the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by saying, โThe good news is thereโs 50 less paedophiles in the world.โ
Paula Fagan, the head of advocacy and support group LGBT Ireland, welcomed what she called โthe decisive action by the minister for justiceโ.
Activists also said the incident showed the need for a hate crime law in Ireland.
โIt has highlighted the need for us to address our hate crimes legislation in this country (so) going forward we wonโt get into these kinds of situations again,โ said Bernadine Quinn, the manager of Dundalk Outcomers, an LGBT+ community centre.
โThe number one issue for the (LGBT+) community is the need for hate crime legislation,โ Fagan said.
Legislation outlawing hate speech was not sufficient to tackle hate crime, found a 2018 report by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, whose conclusions Flanagan welcomed at the time.
Anderson had also been due to preach in the Netherlands and Sweden this month, but was banned from the Schengen Area, which covers 26 European countries.
โIโm sorryโฆ Iโm not going to be able to come, but actually Iโm not sorry because it isnโt my fault,โ Anderson said in a video posted on his YouTube channel on Monday.
REUTERS
