Isn hate speech protected by the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment Free Speech provision?
Yes. As a general rule, the First Amendment protects hate speech as long as it does not: * include a physical threat of violence or property damage; * incite imminent criminality; * does not defame a particular individual; * solicit or actively abet criminality; * or evidence a conspiracy. If hate speech is protected, don’t hate crime laws also violate the Constitution’s protection of freedom of speech? The Supreme Court has consistently upheld criminal civil rights laws and hate crime laws that punish status based criminal acts or status based interference with particular civil rights. The Court has, however, invalidated criminal laws that seek to punish otherwise legal expression because it promotes bigotry or merely offends people.
