Why Certain Speech Should Not Be Tolerated

I am in favor of free speech and think that people should be allowed to express themselves however they see fit. However, there are certain exceptions where free speech ends and a person needs to be careful with what they say, and how they express themselves. Obviously people know the exception to the rule where someone cannot scream fire in a crowded theater, but I feel free speech should not just end at that. I think when people spew hateful, vile things at someone, whether it is to their face, or over cyberspace, it should be censored. Representative Virginia Foxx is an example of hate speech that I believe should not be allowed to go unchecked. She claimed that the story of Matthew Shepard who was murdered for being gay, was a hoax, when in fact that is completely false according to a report in 1998 from the New York Times.


As stated from the New York Times in 1998, via the Huffingtonpost:

"According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious."

I believe hate speech does not just harm gay or lesbian people, either. I think speech that is hateful, or derogatory should not be used at all. As Rep. John Lewis stated, a black senator from Georgia, who was a victim of a hate crim during the struggle for civil rights "She should be ashamed...That is unreal, unbelievable. "The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."

I think it is pretty unbelievable that someone could say something like this and also a bit insensitive to the family and friends of Matthew Shepard. I can remember hearing about it when it happened and how horrifying the news of his murder was. I hope she apologies for her comments and understands her comments where not the proper things to say.

This is the video of her comments.