The campaign to implement hate-speech legislation in the US is gaining steam. But should one of America’s founding principles – the right to free thought and free speech – be eroded in the name of protecting ‘vulnerable’ minorities? On 30 October, spiked’s Free Speech Now! campaign, in association with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), assembled four leading proponents of free speech for a packed-out public debate at WNYC in New York City. Nadine Strossen, author and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Wendy Kaminer, a lawyer and writer; Greg Lukianoff, author and president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE); and Brendan O’Neill, editor of spiked, all made their cases for the best antidote to hate speech being more speech. Listen to an edited podcast of the debate below.
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