Street Preacher Arrested, Accused of Hate Crime after Sharing Scripture with Gay Teen

A Christian preacher in the U.K. was arrested and accused of a hate crime after he responded to a gay teen’s question about homosexuality.

The Telegraph reports that 42-year-old Gordon Larmour was handing out leaflets and street preaching in the town of Irvine when he was approached by the 19-year-old who questioned him on what the Bible said about homosexuality.

Lamour proceeded to tell the young man about Scripture and specifically shared the story of Adam and Eve and how God told them to be fruitful and multiply. He also reportedly told the young man and his friends, “Don't forget Jesus loves you and He died for your sins.”

Soon after responding to the young man’s question, police arrested Lamour, accused him of using threatening or abusive language regarding sexual orientation, and locked him up in a jail cell overnight.

Now, after a prolonged trial, Lamour has been acquitted of all charges. Although thankful to be released, he and many other Christians worry about the state of free speech due to this incident.

“I can't see why I was arrested in the first place - it was a massive overreaction and a waste of everyone's time. The police didn't listen to me. They took the young homosexual guy's side straight away and read me my rights,” shared Lamour.

“I feel they [the police] try so hard to appear like they are protecting minorities, they go too far the other way. I want to be able to tell people the good word of the Gospel and think I should be free to do so. I wasn't speaking my opinions - I was quoting from the Bible,” he continued.

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Publication date: February 6, 2017