Canada - Giving middle finger ‘God-given right,’ not a crime: judge

[Kamaji]

Giving middle finger ‘God-given right,’ not a crime: judge

By Snejana Farberov
March 10, 2023

Giving the middle finger may not be nice, but it is people’s “God-given” right, a Canadian judge has ruled in clearing a man of harassment charges in a neighbors’ quarrel.

In his often-hilarious 26-page ruling cited by the Guardian on Friday, Quebec Judge Dennis Galiatsatos unequivocally proclaimed that displaying the rude gesture does not constitute a criminal act.

“To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger,” the judge wrote in his recent opinion. “Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian.

“It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability.”

In May 2021, police in the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield arrested 45-year-old Neall Epstein, a local school teacher, on charges of uttering death threats and criminal harassment after he “flipped off” his neighbor, Michael Naccache.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/03/10/giving-middle-finger-god-given-right-not-a-crime-judge/