Should Freedom of Speech have limits?
Did you know that if someone makes a direct threat to hunt you down and kill you, it is not illegal- it is considered Free Speech.. the only time it is illegal is if they actually attempt it- by then I would think it would be a little bit late. Do you think threatening to kill somebody should be covered under Freedom of Speech?
Answers:
What is freedom? It is the right to do or speak what we feel or think without being judged unfairly as long as we don't take someone else's rights away from them in the process. I am free to have and do what I want in my own yard if it is my own property, but if I choose to burn rubbish and leaves on a windy day and the sparks fly onto my neighbor's roof and catch fire and burn his place to the ground, then I took his freedom to have a good safe home away from him and I will be punished by the law for not using common sense and checking out weather reports first before using my freedom to burn the trash. I am free to have a dog but if I allow it to go onto my neighbor's yard and dig holes or deficate on their land, then I also took my neighbor's right to have a nice lawn away from him and I have broken the law. If I own a pet, I am free to love it and nurture it and buy whatever I wish for it, but if I neglect it or beat it or don't water and feed it properly, then I have taken the pet's freedom away of living on this earth free of abuse and have also broken the law. I can have as many kids as I want but if I neglect them and abuse them, then I have infringed on their rights as humans to be treated with respect and kindness and be taken care of and I have also broken the law. Any freedom whether it is freedom of speech, press, religion, civil rights, etc., ceases to be 'free' if it infringes upon other's rights to also be free and uninhibited as well. If you threaten someone's life, then you have infringed upon their rights to walk down a street without fear and also their rights to remain alive. Crime, no matter what kind or who does it, is always taking the rights of another away from them. Any possibility of a crime that would take the rights of another away from them, especially the right to live, should be reported to the local authorities. How would you feel if you don't report it and that person that did the threatening actually does the action and takes the other person's right to live away from them?
There shouldn't be limits, but there should be consequences for what is said.
It already has limits,
lots of them,
No it is assault,
and in same states death threats are a felony except where I live, you know you gotta man up and face it.
There are such limitations.
All threats should be taken seriously...but you can imagine all the whackos that authorities would have to chase down.
Sadly in some instances when it's ignored it ends tragically.
Check your law -- in almost all states an offer to do harm to someone constitutes simple assault and is illegal.
What you describe is already illegal in the US. The crime is called terroristic threats and is definitely punishable if you can prove it was done.
"Fighting words" are not covered under freedom of speech. Most threats would fall under this category.
Yes, it should be protected. I say that all the time, especially to my stupid, good for nothing brother. But am I really going to kill him? No. Does he have the right to go to the police if the actually felt threatened about it? yes. Has he? no, the knows I'd kill him...lol
I think that if a person feels that it is an actual threat, and not just someone venting, they have the right to contact the police. I don't think the person who said the threat should be thrown in jail, but the police should note it. That way if something does happen, then there is evidence that a prior problem existed between the two of you.
there are limits, hate speech, heckling, libel, enticing a riot, and verbal assault
Actually, the Freedom of Speech clause does not protect threats or any thing that is said in an attempt to incite any form of riots or fighting.
The Democrats sure seem to think so.
Yep, there's little to none on freelawanswer.com .
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