The Importance Of Hate Speech Laws

Garton Ash believes democracies should move beyond hate speech laws because they prevent “open and robust civility”, are paternalistic in nature, ineffective at preventing prejudice and discrimination, and lead to a slippery slope of what demands protection by law. Garton Ash presents the idea of “open and robust civility” as the balance of tolerance and ability to openly express oneself, which may be intolerant by nature. Hate speech laws prevent the ability for self expression if the views you wish to express are intolerant towards the protected groups. Hate speech laws allow groups to have the opportunity to use the “I’m offended” veto to shut down any speech they dislike. This restricts the openness that Garton Ash claims is just as necessary as the civility for living in a diverse society. …show more content…
The government can prosecute someone for speech against the groups protected by law, even if the members of the group do not take offense to the speech. This ultimately results in the government dictating when a group should be offended. Garton Ash gives the example of how hate speech laws can be used paternalistically by using the French court ruling that by participating in “dwarf-throwing” events, Manuel Wackenheim “violated his dignity” (218) even though he had made the decision to participate himself. When used in this way, hate speech laws are used to restrict freedom of expression of individuals that the laws are attempting to