U.K. Parliament Debates Proposal To Ban Donald Trump Over 'Hate Speech'
LONDON (CBS SF) -- While there have been numerous debates between presidential candidates in the U.S., there is heated debate going on in British Parliament over one GOP presidential hopeful's 'hate speech.'
Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the United States has sparked a debate to ban him from entering the U.K.
Monday, members of the British Parliament are debating a petition to ban Trump from entering the country, along with a counter-petition not to ban the real-estate mogul/reality star.
Hate speech is a crime in the U.K. and according to the author of the petition, Trump's anti-Islamic rhetoric "foments racial, religious and nationalistic intolerance which should not be welcome in the U.K."
Scottish freelance journalist/activist Suzanne Kelly launched the petition, which got more than 574,000 signatures. It required only 100,000 to make it to Parliament's Petition Committee.
Excerpt:
- "The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. This same principle should apply to Donald J Trump. We cannot see how the United Kingdom can condone his entry to the country when many people have been barred for less.
If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behavior' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful."
Monday's debate will not end in a vote, and many believe a ban is even likely. If he were, Trump would be added to the list of banned individuals that includes anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller. She was banned from entering the U.K. in 2013.
Trump also proposed to "secure our borders" with Mexico after a woman was shot and killed in San Francisco by an undocumented worker.
CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.
