Freedom of Speech and the Left
There's this thing called the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I bring this up because of two recent cases. The first is an Oregon couple who own a bakery. They refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple who were getting married. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian fined the couple $135,000 for violating Oregon law and issued a gag order:
The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby orders [Aaron and Melissa Klein] to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published … any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations … will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination be made against, any person on account of their sexual orientation.
Now, no matter what you think of the Kleins' actions, I hope you agree with me that the Kleins have the right under the First Amendment to say what they want.
The second case is that of George Takei. The former Star Trek actor called Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, "He is a clown in black face sitting on the Supreme Court."
Does Mr. Takei have the right to state his views? Absolutely. We have freedom of speech in this country. Whether you agree with (or don't) with his views, he should be allowed to speak his mind. For those on the right who disagree, do any of them state, "We can't have him speak?" No; instead I see headlines like "George Takei Doubles Down on Stupid".
Contrast that with those on the left. They do not want those they disagree with to be able to speak their minds. The ruling by the Oregon Labor Commissioner (on the gag order) is a prime example of this.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I bring this up because of two recent cases. The first is an Oregon couple who own a bakery. They refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple who were getting married. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian fined the couple $135,000 for violating Oregon law and issued a gag order:
The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby orders [Aaron and Melissa Klein] to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published … any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations … will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination be made against, any person on account of their sexual orientation.
Now, no matter what you think of the Kleins' actions, I hope you agree with me that the Kleins have the right under the First Amendment to say what they want.
The second case is that of George Takei. The former Star Trek actor called Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, "He is a clown in black face sitting on the Supreme Court."
Does Mr. Takei have the right to state his views? Absolutely. We have freedom of speech in this country. Whether you agree with (or don't) with his views, he should be allowed to speak his mind. For those on the right who disagree, do any of them state, "We can't have him speak?" No; instead I see headlines like "George Takei Doubles Down on Stupid".
Contrast that with those on the left. They do not want those they disagree with to be able to speak their minds. The ruling by the Oregon Labor Commissioner (on the gag order) is a prime example of this.