Expert: Michael Troy - 5/6/2010

Question
What would protect me, as a caucasian citizen, to walk down the street in my uniform and chant "White Power!"?  Why is it that African Americans, Hispanics, etc. can sling racism at US but we can't sling racism back without being guilty of hate crime?  How can i express my GOD GIVEN RIGHT to my freedom of speech when the MAN MADE law prevents me?  We are not forcing different ethnic groups to live here in the United States, if they don't like it why cant they go back to their ancestors birthplace?  HELP?

Answer
Hello,

The First Amendment does generally grant people the right to walk down the street and chant "white power" if they wish.  The ACLU protected that right in a case where they represented the American Nazi Party's right to march in a Jewish neighborhood.  You can read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Party_of_America_v._Village_of_S...

While many other countries have laws banning the expression of such hateful ideas, the US Courts have generally held that such laws in the US run afoul of the first Amendment.

Hate Crimes are different.  But that goes beyond pure speech.  The theory behind hate crime laws are that a person convicted of a crime can receive a higher sentence if his motivation was hateful against a particular group.  For example, punching someone in the face is already considered a felony (battery).  But if you punch someone in the face because you dislike the color of their skin, that can be considered a hate crime and result in a higher sentence.  But if you limit your actions to speech, hate crime laws are not relevant.  Also, minorities are also subject to hate crime law if they punch someone for being white (or Asian, or whatever).

I hope this helps!
- Mike