British MP Proposes Ban On Demonstrations Against Uniformed Military

A great deal of anger has surfaced in Britain over the protest last week (Guardian 3/11) by a tiny Islamist group against soldiers returning from Iraq. During a parade in the town of Lutton featuring 200 returning soldiers, Ahle Sunnah al Jamah members carried signs such as one reading "Anglian soldiers go to hell." Now, according to The National yesterday, a Conservative member of Parliament has introduced a bill to outlaw this type of demonstration against the military. The proposed bill tracks language in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006 (which protects Muslims in Britain). It would ban stirring up hatred against "uniformed military personnel on official duties." The new ban has been offered as an amendment to a policing bill currently working its way through Parliament.