The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #85608   Message #1587041
Posted By: Don Firth
20-Oct-05 - 12:06 PM
Thread Name: BS: T-Shirt/Censorship/Religious hatred
Subject: RE: BS: T-Shirt/Censorship/Religious hatred
I think we need to keep in mind who is doing the censoring.

If someone wears a tasteless and / obscene T-shirt or such, the government has no business whatsoever in getting involved. If, however, you're running a restaurant and someone comes in wearing a message T-shirt that you find offensive and feel certain that some of your other patrons might also, then you're perfectly within your legal and Constitutional rights to refuse them admission or service. This would hold true for any privately owned business, such as an airline.

If I own a public address system and someone wants to use it to broadcast a message that I don't agree with, the Constitution—and the First Amendment—do not require that I allow him to use it, no matter how much he may protest that I am abridging his freedom of speech.

One should be clear about this:   the Constitution restricts the powers and actions of the government. But not private citizens.

Don Firth