Hate Speech and the 1st Amendment

The near-absolute protection of all forms of speech by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (see full text, at left)  is a rarity, not even shared by Great Britain, whose Magna Carta served as a model and inspiration for our Founding Fathers. Peter Scheer, Executive Director of the First Amendment Coalition in San Rafael, notes that other long-established western Democracies in Europe set tighter limits.

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The risk inherent in attempting to legislate against hate speech, says Peter Scheer (right), lies in how it is defined, and who is doing the defining.

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Even in thoroughly modern and democratic nations, attempts to limit hate speech have proven problematic. Scheer details a specific recent instance in Canada.

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