Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
The Right believes that the first Amendment is critical to the American way of life, but that, at times, the rights of the individual to speak freely are outweighed by the rights of the people as a whole to be secure.
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OK, I buy that for the right. I'd leave off the qualification for the left; I don't think we would get consensus on it. If I'm willing to concede a qualificaiton on freedom of speech or religion, I would focus on speech likely to result in immediate bodily harm (e.g., yelling "Fire" in a crowded theatre). I would put up with no limits on political speech -- if we must limit it, we lose what we are fighting for.
I do think there are some who would limit "hate speech" on the left; I say, let people pursue their traditional civil remedies on such speech, and, more importantly, on any actions that occur as a result of or simultaneously with the speech, but don't prohibit the speech.