Religious hatred

[Don Corleone]

I seem to have missed the passage of laws restricting free speech, and go about saying things about lots of different people. Now I'm worried about it.

I'm familiar with the Civil Rights Act, but don't think it restricts what I can or cannot say. There are powerful market forces that constrain hateful speech, but . . .

could you cite a 'protection bill', one that prohibits saying something bad about Islam?

I'm glad you asked big guy. No, I'm not talking about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Howver, at the federal level, the US criminal code was ammened: 18 USC Section 245, in 1968.

I believe the most recent federal lesiglation was the 'Hate Crimes Sentancing Enhancement Act" of 1994.

In addition, 41 of 50 states have their own 'Hate Crimes' laws, which makes 'speech determined to be a threatening or offensive nature based on race, religion or ethnicity' unlawful, although there's a wide array of what happens to you should you be convicted.

And this is just what's enshrined in law. Go read the Human Resources Policy manual for any major American company. Basically, if somebody chooses to be offended by what you say, you're on probation, facing possible firing.

I'm not arguing against punishing somebody who burns a cross in their neighbor's yard, or paints a swaztika on a synagogue's doors. But there's already laws for dealing with these crimes. Hate Crimes statues are a measure towards though control, because they now bring the level of criminality to 'did the victim feel threatened or targeted', regardless of whether that was the intent of the criminal or not.

If I say "god, you're a lush, slow down" to my buddy at the bar tonight after work, that may have been 1) innocent humor or 2) concern for an individual. But what if he's of Irish hertiage and takes that as an ethnic slur. What if he decides he was threatened by that remark... that I was hinting I might besmirch him back at work. Well, I'm up the creek without a paddle according to most Hate Crime statutes. Now, had I said "quit drinking you stupid mick, or I'll beat your ass", even without Hate Crimes laws, that's clearly communicating a verbal threat and I could be prosecuted.