Our
view
Cross
burning reconsidered
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday
on whether cross burning is protected under
the Constitution, or whether it is threatening
behavior that states can ban.
The decision to hear the arguments comes
four years after an incident in Virginia
in which a black man found a burned cross
in the front yard of his home. In 2001,
the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the
state’s law banning cross burning violates
the right to free speech.
The idea of cross burning does not appeal
to sane individuals. In fact, it is downright
disgusting to most people. However, the
idea of the right to free speech is something,
or at least should be something that we,
as Americans cherish. As offensive as it
is, burning a cross does fit into the free
speech category as long as it is done on
the private land of the person doing the
burning. Burning a cross on someone’s front
lawn in order to intimidate him or her does
not fit into the free speech category.
To ban cross burning would be to single
out one specific ritual simply because it
is highly offensive—it would be a violation
of First Amendment rights. In a time when
our rights are being stripped from us in
the name of fighting terrorism, it is more
important then ever to cling to the rights
that we still have, even if it means protecting
the right to do something that we may not
necessarily agree with.
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