Reader's Blog: Blasphemy vote is a slap in face for good will

To decriminalise blasphemy, by first removing it from the Constitution, is, in my view, a retrograde step that will lead us further down the slippery path to a decadent society. While the crime of blasphemy is one that is solely aimed at people with religious affiliations, all of our god-fearing citizens will be offended by another attempt to edit decent values from the Constitution and to further undermine the common good that every nations’ constitution tries to protect.

Lawyer.ie’s Guide to the Law in the Republic of Ireland contains an article regarding the Defamation Act 2009; Changes to ‘slander’ and ‘libel’ laws. There is a comment at the end of its treatise on defamation law: “The notorious blasphemy provision (section 36) however has tremendous potential for abuse.” This layman would like to know from some legal eagle, what it is about blasphemy that has the potential for abuse?