IN-DEPTH: Legal Group Defends Those Who Are Targeted by ‘Hate Speech’ Prosecutions

Despite the protections for speech and faith enshrined in constitutions and a long history of respecting civil liberties, many people in Western nations are now learning to fear prosecution for voicing their beliefs. The long-honored tradition of “freedom of conscience” has protected individuals in the West from state coercion regarding their beliefs and preserved their right to speak and act in accordance with those beliefs. More recently, however, organizations like the United Nations (U.N.) have called for an all-encompassing global effort to “tackle” hate speech, which it defines as “a denial of the values of tolerance, inclusion, diversity and the very essence of human rights norms and principles.”...