Deputy Ozanne asked if the States had a duty to balance freedom of expression and the concerns of vulnerable members of the community where States-owned venues were providing the platform.
She said that the States had a duty to safeguard vulnerable people from potentially hateful content.
‘I do believe that the States does have the duty to strike a balance in matters related to freedom of expression,’ said ESC president Deputy Montague.
‘There was no invite for these entertainers to come over. I would ask that we consider this very carefully. It is entirely inappropriate for an Assembly such as ours to descend into a culture war issue on this.
‘We need to treat the concerns of vulnerable people very, very seriously, but I believe it’s consistent with democratic principles and individual freedom that people should be allowed to book a venue in the States of Guernsey.
‘Freedom of expression protects not only popular and agreeable views, but also those that many people strongly oppose, so preventing a so-called entertainer from hiring a public venue risks setting a precedent where access is determined by political opinion rather than rule of law.’
Deputy Montague said that he did not see that the show presented a safety issue.
‘We are talking about something badged as entertainment. It is not a political rally,’ he said.
‘Beau Sejour has a theatre, and people will be going to that theatre if they bought tickets for this particular piece of entertainment. I do not see how there is a safety issue here. People may feel vulnerable, they may feel concerned, we might get upset when we read about these comments online, and we might feel that this is uncomfortable knowing that maybe our neighbour has booked a ticket, but I don’t think it is the responsibility of this assembly to judge what people find entertaining.’
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