Interesting thread. There was one comment early on that I can't let go:

Paddy Dzell said: This term "hate speech" simply means something that you don't agree with, or that most people don't agree with.

Sorry, Paddy, you are out to lunch on this one. I hear people say things I disagree with all the time without calling it hate speech. To me, hate speech is about bigotry: hating people because they belong to a group that you don't like. I will defend to my last breath anyone having the right to say almost anything they want to say. But if it is bigoted speech, I will also do my best to get them to shut up, and I will defend other people's right to limit the places in which they are allowed to say these things. If I owned a club and a performer started spouting bigoted hate speech, I'd pull the plug immediately. They may have the right to speak their minds, but not on my property or in a situation that has my name associated with it.