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Freedom Versus Equality: Battle Over Hate Speech

NCJ Number
127717
Journal
Trial Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1991) Pages: 12-14
Author(s)
J G Shoop
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The controversy over constitutionally limiting hate speech has strained the traditional alliance between civil rights advocates seeking social and political equality and civil libertarians defending the right to free speech.
Abstract
The U.S. Constitution and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) both acknowledge and require free speech protection on the one hand and equal protection based on race and religion on the other hand. Some difficult legal cases involving hate speech have emerged from college campuses. Many schools, plagued by incidents of harassment, have adopted policies that prohibit hate speech on campus. To varying degrees, these rules penalize speech that harasses or intimidates others because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. The ACLU estimates that about 130 colleges and universities have adopted antiharassment rules in one form or another. The ACLU has adopted a policy opposing broad campus rules against hate speech. University responses to the hate speech problem are noted, and it is suggested that the problem requires human relations training and not merely a legal solution.