Ryven wrote:
Sair wrote:
Ryven wrote:
We don't tolerate people who harass people in a sexual or racist fashion, why should be be lenient when people harass people in a religious way, to the point that the Phelps take it to?
Yes, we do. If you want to stand on a street corner and shout abuses at anyone and everyone, you have every right to do so.
Or at least we do in the US. I thought that's where you are?
There's certainly a difference between calling a jaywalker a fucker, and researching a dead soldier's family, including where they're going to have the funeral, buying plane tickets, flying across the country only to make a mourner's worst day even worse. The sheer thought and research alone make it harassment, reaching far past "freedom of speech". Based on the fact that these terms alone could justify a restraining order make it harassment.
Do we take away a person's right to drive a car when they've incurred too many tickets and infractions? Yes.
Do we take away a person's right to participate in society in general when said person has used his right to bear arms to kill someone? Yes.
Do we fire people who decide to make someone's life difficult based on race and sex, and sue them for harassment? Yes.
I don't see any difference between this and those examples. Rights require responsibility. Once your exercising of a certain right infringes severely upon someone else's, then it's passed over into abuse of said right.
Except for the fact that every example you cite involves public safety or infringement on personal freedom.
A person who gains a license hasn't proven shit about responsibility, but they have tested to show they are not a credible threat to society. Once they become a threat, said license is revoked. Anytime before that would be unconstitutional.
Killing somebody, short of in defense of oneself, shows you've become a threat to society, thus your right is revoked.
Stopping the employment of someone based on sex or race is impacting their personal freedom. They are physically being stopped from doing something.
Until the Phelps morons start harming or having the intent to harm people at the protests they stage, there really isn't much that can be done against them.