I hate the way that the concept of free speech has been usurped by scoundrels who claim that it means you can say what you like, however threatening and hurtful. If we can't accept that freedom comes hand in glove with responsibility, we will eventually lose our freedoms altogether. Whilst we should be free to express the most ludicrous notions (such as my dad insisting that he could prove that the moon landings were filmed in Nevada), we shouldn't claim to be free to express notions that whip up hatred or prejudice, or which make people fearful or insecure. There's been plenty of wrangling over the First Amendment down the centuries (see mucho stuff on wiki), and, just as with the "bear arms" clause in the Second Amendment, the text has been pounced on and stripped of nuance by people of ill intent.