On Tue, 27 Feb 2001, David Stultz wrote:
Just playing the Devil's Advocate here.
Are you allowed to go into a theatre and yell, "FIRE!!!" when there is none? Nope.
There *are* restrictions on speech. If MS's "speech" violated somebody's rights, that speech can be made illegal.
Speech can't violate rights, only acts against another can. Speech is not an act against another. Unconstitutional restrictions on speech that is. If there is a fire and I don't yell have I commited a crime? If I yell fire and everyone does nothing was a crime commited? Let's take your example, it only applies if people are in the theatre AND they react as if there were a fire. But is it the safety of the theatre inhabitants we're concerned about? Clearly not since there are more than sufficient legal and civil recoveries for both the theatre owner and the patrons if their rights are infringed. The reality is that causing a riot, via speech or some other mechanism, isn't protected by the 1st. The argument to forward is a straw-man, they want to regulate speech when it is convenient to their ends and they hope nobody notices they're pulling a fast one to do it. So what they have is a nice tasting argument so that you'll accept A PRIORI restraint on speech. ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------