Should someone face punishment for their speech?

[FLAprogressive]

Should someone be punished by the government for their words? Not talking about libel/slander/criminal threats here.

Is some speech not "free"? Who defines what speech is not "free"?

[Drale]

1. Well if someone says I'm going to murder you in your sleep

I think perhaps, maybe yes they should get like community service to think about what they've done.

[FLAprogressive]

2. Not talking about criminal threats.....(I clarified the OP). I'm talking stuff that would not result

in criminal/civil punishment in this country but may in others.

[baldguy]

3. When the crazy fringe stands up with speech that's harmful - the answer is more speech.

The voices of sane, reasonable & intelligent people have been drowned out.

[FLAprogressive]

4. So it's reasonable, for example, to fine a comedian at a private venue for "insulting" someone?

I take it you don't like Lisa Lampanelli then?

[Modern_Matthew]

7. She's great. The more vile, the better. Love shock jocks as well. nt

[Rusticus Too]

18. Tom Tomorrow!

Is Great!

[Modern_Matthew]

5. Never. Not under any circumstances. Don't like something said? Thicken your skin.

You'll find no sarcasm smiley here.

[napoleon_in_rags]

6. You've got to carefully define punishment.

If you call me an asshole, and then I "punish" you by calling you an asshole back, that's fair play. If I arrest/fine/assault you, that's not.

[FLAprogressive]

9. Punishment imposed by the government.

[napoleon_in_rags]

13. I would broaden beyond government a little to be honest.

There are some PR firms that will go after people who say things adverse to industries, and some cross the line into the criminal. That to me is just as much a violation of first amendment rights as government suppression.

But I hear what you're saying.

[FLAprogressive]

15. No question.....but for now we're talking about what the government should/shouldn't do.

[Odin2005]

8. If their speech is said with the intention to intimidate minorities, then yes.

[FLAprogressive]

10. So it's OK to intimidate a group considered a "majority"? I take it you don't like insult comics

then?

[frazzled]

11. What are you talking about? A specific example?

No one IS arrested simply for speech, to my knowledge. You can be arrested for speaking in a place from which you have been legally prohibited (too close to an abortion clinic; entering an army base without permission; behind a police barricade). You have to break a law. Speaking protected, but other laws may cause "speakers" to be arrested.

[FLAprogressive]

12. This is what instigated it....a lot of DU'ers are supporting the Canadian government's actions...

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/lesbian-insults-get-comic-fined-dpgonc-km-20110421_12871288

[frazzled]

19. Well, you should have said "in Canada" -- and no one seems to have been arrested

One assumes you are talking about first amendment rights in the United States.

The article does not say the person was arrested. He was sued in court and ordered to pay damages (for her "lost dignity, feelings, and self-respect"). He was not put in prison. If he doesn't pay the judgment, if it stands on appeal, he may go to jail.

Someone can claim to be libeled or slandered by your speech, even here in the U.S., though it is much harder to win such a case here than in Britain or, presumably, Canada.

[FLAprogressive]

21. Ummm....I never said "arrested" in the OP, I said "face punishment", last I checked, a fine by a

government entity is a punishment. He was not sued in court....it was a case from the British Columbia Human Rights Board....a government entity.

And if people support that action, they obviously would support a similar action in this country.

If we began punishing people for hurting others' feelings we'd have a lot of people paying fines.

[frazzled]

22. Last time I looked, the US and Canada have different laws

In many countries in Europe, you can be arrested for using "hate" language. It's a law there. It's not here. And we don't have "human rights boards" that can mete out punishments.

[FLAprogressive]

24. So that makes it OK then, since they're just "enforcing their laws"??? Saudi Arabia can execute you

if you speak out against the King. That's OK because they have different laws?

[AsahinaKimi]

14. It would be nice to know

Just how far Free Speech is allowed to go..is there a line? If hate speech causes the death of say one person, 20 people..or 100 people, or 3,000 people..is there ANY CONSEQUENCES at all to the speaker? Should there be?

[FLAprogressive]

16. Depends. Does the hate speech constitute a threat or a call for violence?

[AsahinaKimi]

17. again..

If hate speech causes the death of say one person, 20 people..or 100 people, or 3,000 people..is there ANY CONSEQUENCES at all to the speaker? Should there be?

[FLAprogressive]

20. Public shunning/condemnation/etc. But criminal punishment for non-threat hate speech is a slippery

slope and the courts have ruled time and time again that hate speech is protected under the first amendment.

If "hate speech" were outlawed in this country it would be a slippery slope. Would legitimate protests against the government begin to constitute "hate speech"??

[AsahinaKimi]

23. So lets say someone like a right wing radio announcer

Says, this Governor and his staff needed to be killed (and the Radio Staff don't fire him) .. and people gather and rush the Governors office, killing everyone there, including police and security guards,..Lets say 50 are dead, all because these protesters bought into the colorful description by said radio announcer...

This radio announcer bears no punishment at all?

[FLAprogressive]

25. Obviously that constitutes a criminal threat and is not protected under any free speech provisions.

But I'm not surprised that someone would bring that kind of hyperbole into this type of discussion. Saying "I hate X" and "Go out and kill X" are two different things.

Clearly you did not read my OP.

[AsahinaKimi]

26. I was just asking a question ...

about free speech. I honestly didn't know how far this could go. I have heard people like Michael Savage come close to wanting people dead... or even Glenn Beck at times. I believe in free speech, and I know how it plays over in places like Europe.. I have a friend who is Dutch who has told me about their hate speech laws. I don't want to see those here, but on the other hand,... I have to
think about George Tiller and what O'Reilly did to him. Its not Hyperbole if you are concerned about the levels of this kind of thing..

[FLAprogressive]

27. It's just the fact that saying "X should be killed" is completely different than "I hate X"

And having someone going out and killing someone after someone says the latter.

[Initech]

28. After seeing the French burka law in effect I'm against the idea of thought crimes.

But don't get me wrong - I hate the racists, sexists, bigots, and homophobes of this country but I don't think we should be policing their thoughts.