June 17, 2007 08:18 PM UTC

Canadian Free Speech

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• by: riogrande

Are we next?

I’ll be the first to say that I don’t agree with this guy’s views (http://www.tradition…  http://www.narth.com…), but I’ll also be among the first to defend his right to hold and express them, and not be persecuted by his government for so doing.  Chris Kempling is, in effect, the anti-Ward Churchill.

For most people, freedom of speech always distills down to “freedom for MY speech.”  Governments throughout the world have used the concept of “hate speech” to ban otherwise lawful expression and/or intimidate citizens into not expressing their views out of the need for self-protection.

Despite our vaunted First Amendment, America is not very far behind — as the persecution Churchill, Glenn Spagnuolo, and I have endured for exercise of that right testifies to.  The Matthew Shepard Act (H.R. 1592) goes even further, as it

[a]uthorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that… is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the state, local, or tribal hate crime laws.

What was once mere vandalism (e.g., an anti-gay slur found on a restroom wall) suddenly becomes a federal hate crime.  There is no way to reasonably spin this as anything other than prosecution for “thought crime.”

Are we finally going too far?