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Hate Speech And Hate Speech

Decent Essays

Hate Speech: No Exceptions for Malicious Intentions
As a constitutional right, people often exercise their right to freedom of speech believing that they also have the right to voice their opinions which can be provocative to opposing parties no matter where they stand. There is a defining line between what can be constituted as hate speech and free speech. Depending on the way that it is expressed, voicing an opinion can easily be misinterpreted causing certain people to feel threatened or attacked, then leading to dangerous physical outbursts. The right to exercise one’s own opinion that can challenge or provoke others should be deterred or at least limited if safety of all parties, even those not directly involved, cannot be guaranteed. …show more content…

Phelps in regards to the Westboro Baptist Church rally outside of a fallen soldiers funeral, it is to a great extent inappropriate for the followers of the church to have gathered in such close proximity to the funeral with the signs they were holding with messages like, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “Thank God for 9/11”. It is understandable that the church wanted to voice their opposition against “the United States… tolerance of homosexuality, particularly within the military” but at a funeral for someone who fought for the country where people are grieving should not have been permitted (Roberts et al. “Facts and Case”). Chief Justice Roberts et al. , in “Facts and Case Summary - Snyder v. Phelps”, mentions that the church did alert public authorities of what their plans were, where they would be, and did in fact, “comply with all police instructions”. There are a variety of different locations where military gather that the church could have chosen to gather around but having picketed outside of a funeral lacks the courtesy to the family of the soldier and to the soldier himself having given his life to serving our country. Any free speech that might be deemed as hate speech should not be protected around funerals, churches, memorial grounds, or locations and events of that sort due to its blatant disrespect which will cause those who are not participating in speaking their opinion to feel provoked or disrespected, possibly leading that

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