FREE SPEECH vs. HATE SPEECH, HARRASSMENT,

[nraforlife]

Too bad the kid died in a useless & stupid war, but his Papa's assault on the Constitution is far worse. Three cheers to the Supremes for kicking him to the curb.

 

[spectrumc01]

The supreme court was right on, and the soldiers who's funeral it was would probably roll over in their graves if they knew the rights they died for protecting were being overturned by the supreme court. The only laws that need to be expanded are the self defense laws. If hate speech were treated like an assault, then it would be legal for said victim to physically defend himself with in reason.

A few of these people getting their asses kicked for spewing hate and then having the courts tell them that maybe they shouldn't have said what they did to whom they said it, would work.

You have the right to say anything you want. You should also have the right to get your ass kicked for saying it.

 

[mudwhistle]

FREE SPEECH vs. HATE SPEECH, HARRASSMENT, TRESPASSING,
DISTURBING THE PEACE.

Rev. Phelps and his clan can say anything they want to within distance to cause a disturbance at funerals of fallen soldiers it becomes harassment and there is a law against harassment, disturbing the peace and hate speech. They should get a restraining order against this clan restraining them from protesting within 100 yards and disturbing the peace of a funeral.

A funeral is a private ceremony and attended only by invitation and Rev. Phelps and his clan are funeral crashers spewing hate speech.

He can do and say whatever the hell he want within a certain distance but the line is drawn when it becomes hate speech, harassment and disturbing he peace of a funeral without violating his First Amendment Rights. There is a laws that prevent harassment, hate speech and disturbing the peace.

The First Amendment needs to be amended to make what he is doing a crime without violating his free speech rights. We owe that to our fallen heroes.

Why is hate speech illegal in your world? Are you aware that Pakistan's Minority Minister was just assassinated because he spoke up against laws that restrict what you call hate speech? People are being killed all over the world over the right to say what they want, and you want to shut down a group that no one pays attention to because everyone knows they are scumbags.

If somebody were to do a driveby on one of their protests or drive a car-bomb into them would that be considered an act of terrorism or a blessing in disguise.

Well, it would be a crime ether way. But how many would cheer if somebody were to lose their mind and just take a bunch of them out? I wonder how the DOJ would prosecute this act?

If it was a Muslim they would call it an isolated act, not an act of terrorism.

If it was a member of the New Black Panthers it wouldn't be a racist act.

If it was a Tea Party member it would be an act of Domestic Terrorism and just another example of the viciousness of the right.

But most of us would say it was crime, but not a real shame.

I don't know where I'm going with this other then I need to get another cup of coffee. Perhaps I'm bi-winning or something.

 

[JakeStarkey]

FREE SPEECH vs. HATE SPEECH, HARRASSMENT, TRESPASSING,
DISTURBING THE PEACE.

Rev. Phelps and his clan can say anything they want to within distance to cause a disturbance at funerals of fallen soldiers it becomes harassment and there is a law against harassment, disturbing the peace and hate speech. They should get a restraining order against this clan restraining them from protesting within 100 yards and disturbing the peace of a funeral.

A funeral is a private ceremony and attended only by invitation and Rev. Phelps and his clan are funeral crashers spewing hate speech.

He can do and say whatever the hell he want within a certain distance but the line is drawn when it becomes hate speech, harassment and disturbing he peace of a funeral without violating his First Amendment Rights. There is a laws that prevent harassment, hate speech and disturbing the peace.

The First Amendment needs to be amended to make what he is doing a crime without violating his free speech rights. We owe that to our fallen heroes.

Why is hate speech illegal in your world? Are you aware that Pakistan's Minority Minister was just assassinated because he spoke up against laws that restrict what you call hate speech? People are being killed all over the world over the right to say what they want, and you want to shut down a group that no one pays attention to because everyone knows they are scumbags.

If somebody were to do a driveby on one of their protests or drive a car-bomb into them would that be considered an act of terrorism or a blessing in disguise.

Well, it would be a crime ether way. But how many would cheer if somebody were to lose their mind and just take a bunch of them out? I wonder how the DOJ would prosecute this act?

If it was a Muslim they would call it an isolated act, not an act of terrorism.

If it was a member of the New Black Panthers it wouldn't be a racist act.

If it was a Tea Party member it would be an act of Domestic Terrorism and just another example of the viciousness of the right.

But most of us would say it was crime, but not a real shame.

I don't know where I'm going with this other then I need to get another cup of coffee. Perhaps I'm bi-winning or something.

So you are paranoid as well as delusional.

 

[mudwhistle]

Why is hate speech illegal in your world? Are you aware that Pakistan's Minority Minister was just assassinated because he spoke up against laws that restrict what you call hate speech? People are being killed all over the world over the right to say what they want, and you want to shut down a group that no one pays attention to because everyone knows they are scumbags.

If somebody were to do a driveby on one of their protests or drive a car-bomb into them would that be considered an act of terrorism or a blessing in disguise.

Well, it would be a crime ether way. But how many would cheer if somebody were to lose their mind and just take a bunch of them out? I wonder how the DOJ would prosecute this act?

If it was a Muslim they would call it an isolated act, not an act of terrorism.

If it was a member of the New Black Panthers it wouldn't be a racist act.

If it was a Tea Party member it would be an act of Domestic Terrorism and just another example of the viciousness of the right.

But most of us would say it was crime, but not a real shame.

I don't know where I'm going with this other then I need to get another cup of coffee. Perhaps I'm bi-winning or something.

So you are paranoid as well as delusional.

I'm also kidding.

Guess you can't tell cuz you're living in a constant Schizophrenic state.

 

[MaggieMae]

A distraught and angry mother or father of a slain soldier will someday shoot one of those assholes, and then it will become a whole 'nuther ballgame.

 

[William Joyce]

Declaring that there is "hate speech" aside from "free speech" is wrong.

Hate speech is free speech.

It's the speech that needs the most protection.

If you want to blow bubbles and talk about how cute puppies are, you don't need legal protection because nobody cares.

 

[rdean]

Obama pals around with terrorists.

Obama is a Fascist.

Democrats want communism.

These are both free speech and hate speech.

Republicans let Bin Laden go.

Republicans held the middle class hostage to give tax breaks to billionaires.

Republicans created an extreme Islamic Theocracy by constitution in Iraq.

Republicans are 90% white.

Republican's ineptitude were the second disaster to hit New Orleans.

These are both free speech and the truth.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

LilOlLady, unfortunately America has a long history of not honoring their heroes. In fact our country men hold most of us who've served in contempt. This started in the 60's, and continues today. What this 'church" group does to harass grieving families as they lay their loved ones to rest is reprehensible. It should not be tolerated in this society. One thing that I've learned in life is that everyone has a trigger point that would cause them to react harshly to this type of negative stimulus. I'm one of the lucky parents. Both of my sons returned from multiple Iraqi tours unscathed. I couldn't imagine laying one of my boys to rest, and having this group of maggots show up. One day the members of this church are going to be hurt very badly. I just hope that things don't escalate to this level.

It is criminal for this country to send its young men and women into harms way to fight a war that it doesn't have the will to win.

To say that servicemen this country are hated is a stretch. They are treated nothing like the Vietnam vets were. Now weather you like it or not, when you and your boys enlisted you swore to uphold and defend everyone's right to free speech. That means all speech even the speech we dont like to hear. I will also point out the fact that this group has been doing this since the 90's at the funerals of Gay's who died of AIDS, or were beaten to death as was done with Matt Shepperd. Back then there was no outrage no Supreme court case or anything. They also were allowed to get allot closer to the Shepperd family. In this case, the group was 1,000 feet away and the soldiers family did not know about it until they saw it on TV at home. If we say they cant speak there mind, we cant speak ours.

 

[JakeStarkey]

If somebody were to do a driveby on one of their protests or drive a car-bomb into them would that be considered an act of terrorism or a blessing in disguise.

Well, it would be a crime ether way. But how many would cheer if somebody were to lose their mind and just take a bunch of them out? I wonder how the DOJ would prosecute this act?

If it was a Muslim they would call it an isolated act, not an act of terrorism.

If it was a member of the New Black Panthers it wouldn't be a racist act.

If it was a Tea Party member it would be an act of Domestic Terrorism and just another example of the viciousness of the right.

But most of us would say it was crime, but not a real shame.

I don't know where I'm going with this other then I need to get another cup of coffee. Perhaps I'm bi-winning or something.

So you are paranoid as well as delusional.

I'm also kidding.

Guess you can't tell cuz you're living in a constant Schizophrenic state.

No, you were not kidding. You meant what you wrote above. You are indeed vicious in thought and belief about peoples different than you. That is certainly a facet of humanity even if not a particularly desirable one.

 

[MaggieMae]

Declaring that there is "hate speech" aside from "free speech" is wrong.

Hate speech is free speech.

It's the speech that needs the most protection.

If you want to blow bubbles and talk about how cute puppies are, you don't need legal protection because nobody cares.

Fine. Then nobody should be complaining about flag burning, or whether or not to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Nobody should care, but they do. Loudly.

 

[konradv]

Dont most localities already have such guidelines in place and the Westboro assholes follow those guidelines? I think that people have the mental image of them right at the funeral, heckling the family members. Thats simply not the case. I hate Phelps but we can hardly ban the right to free speech(however vile it might be) because we dont like it and it makes us feel uncomfortable.

Not banning "free speech", just indicating when and where such political events are appropriate. Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Tea Partier, Commie or Nazi, you can't demonstrate without your permits being in order. As long as the law is directed towards preserving the privacy of the families and attendees and not towards shutting down of speech, it should pass Constitutional muster.

Slightly off topic here but I would challenge that, even though those laws have been upheld, the laws that require permits for demonstrating are unconstitutional. It is asinine that you are required to get anything before exercising your free rights. There does need to be basic law that stops people from being disruptive but permits are an abuse against the right to speak.

It isn't assinine to think you've got to get permits before exercising your freedom of speech. What about holding a rally in the middle of the freeway during rush hour? Does the fact that I'm protesting gas taxes make a difference? You can't hold a loud demonstration at 5 am, even if you are demonstrating against Daylaight Savings Time. Permits aren't in place to prevent anyone from speaking, but to prevent the speaker from interfering with the rights of others. Despite what you make think, freedom of speech isn't absolute. You can't give away secrets you've been entrusted with, whether public or private, without facing possible civil or criminal penalties, for example.