Free of Speech is a Double-Edged Sword

      The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that Congress can make no law abridging the freedom of press and speech. "An overwhelming majority (73%) of Americans believe it is better to allow free speech without government interference over letting government decide what types of hate speech should be banned" (http://fmwg.presstools.org/node/34398). With that being said I found the discussion about freedom of speech and hate groups very interesting. I have a very strong opinion when it comes to groups who are out there to intentionally try to hurt people. Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind because of their recent protesting of soldiers funerals.  "The Westboro Baptist Church, led by Fred Phelps and consisting almost exclusively of his extended family, routinely protests at military funerals and in other forums that the church strategically chooses to increase media exposure for its message.  That message is rooted in their belief that God hates America for its tolerance of homosexuality" (https://acluva.org/7388/on-hate-speech-the-westboro-baptist-church-campuses-and-nazis-in-virginia/). In my opinion, the First Amendment should not protect their hateful signs and protests, but if you ban one hate group where does it end. Just because the majority of the country thinks a group should be silenced does not make it right. As much as I would like to see them silenced, it would bring the lawmakers down a slippery slope because there is not one thing that defines the term "hate" or "hate groups". 

       There is no way to sum up hate speech in one category, it may be hateful, but for some people even if it is just a small minority they have the right to speak what they believe in. If we place restrictions upon hate speech we are essentially telling others they are wrong for expressing it verbally. Yes, there are people who speak insensitive narrow-minded comments, but who are we to judge them for having an opinion? I strongly disagree with what they believe in and the tactics they go about expressing it, but if I believed in something that most people did not agree with, I would not want to be silenced for it.  If we ban one type of speech then we would not know what other kind of speech would be banned as well.


     Even though I am strongly against groups like the Westboro Baptist Church, no one should have the authority to define "hate" speech. That would go against the beliefs of what the founding fathers created with the First Amendment. Any type of speech could be then labeled as hateful if such restrictions were put into place.