Equal rights for gay people v freedom of conscience for Christians

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/20/equal-rights-gay-freedom-of-conscience-christianity

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Your editorial (Equality for gay people does not threaten Christian freedoms, 18 April) implies it is wrong for people to stand up for their beliefs. Throughout history those who were prepared to do so have suffered presecution. Thomas More was executed by Henry VIII for refusing to accept the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Was he wrong? Were individuals who spoke out – many, but not all Christian – against the Nazi regime’s treatment of Jews also wrong? Because a law is passed and many people accept it, does not always mean it’s right and nobody should be able to question it. When the original abortion act was passed, a conscience clause was included so that those who had moral objections could opt out of taking part in the procedures. Since the gay marriage act came into force there have been reports of individuals from many walks of life being disciplined or dismissed for saying that they believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. These claims of persecution are not groundless. I accept that the trials of Christians in this country bear no comparison with those in Muslim or communist ones, but should it be a crime to speak out for what one believes in, even if many disagree with your opinion?Jim HeberPortishead, Bristol

Should it be a crime to speak out for what one believes in, even if many disagree with your opinion?

• What a sinister editorial. You are exultant at the state seeking to suppress the expression of Christian conscience. You cite the case of a Belfast baker who refuses to ice a cake with a message he finds offensive and rejoice at the law being mobilised against him. This is no isolated or eccentric instance of Christians being punished for speaking of their faith. A magistrate, doctors, teachers, nurses and health workers, public servants and industrial workers have all faced sanctions: professional reprimand, loss of livelihood, vilification and “retraining”. You presents this as some kind of advance for British society when in reality, should this become the norm, it would propel us backwards through more than three centuries of hard-won freedoms to the time when John Bunyan wrote A Pilgrim’s Progress while serving a 12-year jail sentence for preaching without a licence. The trite implication that such concerns are the province of the right is misinformed and offensive. Julian DinsellSeaford, East Sussex

• If the Guardian really believes that “Conscience cannot provide a ‘get out of jail free’ card”, will it be advocating the removal of the right to refuse military service for conscientious objectors, which was introduced with the Military Service Act of 1916? Linda Marshall Member of Conscience, the Peace Tax CampaignStaines, Middlesex