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That is (hopefully) happening this time. It's worth pointing out that a lot of other countries on Earth have laws that prohibit hate speech. Quite a few countr
by cure 6y ago
That is (hopefully) happening this time.
It's worth pointing out that a lot of other countries on Earth have laws that prohibit hate speech. Quite a few countries have libel laws, too. The US does not have either of those at the federal level, making it much more difficult to use the law to stop people from inciting violence and spreading blatant lies.
- pdabbadabba 6y ago> The US does not have [libel laws] at the federal level It's true--I think--that there is no federal libel statute (though perhaps someone can correct me on this), but that assertion is misleading without a little more context. Whether it is a state or federal law doesn't really mean much in the American legal system. In the U.S., most such laws are state, not federal laws. That doesn't make them less important or enforceable. Every state that I know of recognizes libel as a tort (i.e., you can sue someone for it), and you can do so in federal court if the required ents for federal jurisdiction are met. (In this case, probably that the plaintiff and defendant are from different states.) And, in any case, what's wrong with state courts? A judgement in a state court is just as good as one in federal court.
- cure 6y agoThanks, I didn't intend to mislead. Ianal :) It's my understanding that most US state-level libel laws don't have a lot of teeth, and that they are quite a patchwork, which is why I didn't mention them.
- jtbayly 6y agoThe fact that they are a patchwork is a feature. It's why we have the 10th amendment.