The issue of how to deal with hate speech is a complex one for Americans, for it calls into play two fundamentally important and yet contradictory rights. The first of these is freedom of speech, that blanket guarantor of democratic principles and protections bequeathed to each one of us by the Constitution. The second granted to each American by the Fourteenth Amendment is the right of each one of us to expect equal protection under the law. The question of what type of speech may be restricted and where and by whom is continually fought in the courts as well as in places like libraries. This paper examines how the concept of hate speech challenges our ideas about both free speech and government intervention.
