For the Sake of Science

Free speech has no legal restrictions in the United States. Not a single one.

• Laws against incitement are not restrictions on free speech.
• Laws against threats are not restrictions on free speech.
• Laws against fighting words are not restrictions on free speech.

All of these things are outside the definition of free speech in the first place; free speech is any expression which does not violate the rights of others. To say that the illegality of something which violates a right is also a restriction on said right is nonsensical. No one argues that the illegality of murder is a restriction on one’s right to liberty for that very reason. Murder isn’t part of the definition of liberty in the first place. It can’t be. No rights violation can ever be part of the definition of the right(s) it violates.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: Free Speech, Thought of the day |