Quotes About Rights

Protecting free speech is not only a matter of principle, it is also pragmatic.

You hear about constitutional rights, free speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to myself, 'That man is a Red, that man is a Communist!' You never hear a real American talk like that.

We're losing our freedom of speech. We are losing freedom of religion. We are losing freedom of the press.

The First Amendment does not guarantee the press a constitutional right of special access to information not available to the general public, nor does it cloak the inmate with special rights of freedom of speech.

I begin to feel like most Americans don't understand the First Amendment, don't understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don't understand that it's the responsibility of the citizen to speak out.

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.

Poking fun at other people's beliefs, while it may seem frivolous and offensive, is a non-negotiable right. It is a principle that underpins free speech, the basis for progress.

Everybody favours free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground.

There is no asterisk in the Constitution that says 'except for hate speech.'

I'm a free speech bigot. I don't like censorship; I just don't think it's a good thing.

Today it is becoming harder to speak out, with the inception of the Patriot Act, the president has legislated free speech to be a crime.

You can't come up and attack someone because of free speech.

The US constitution's First Amendment rights only cover Americans, but I believe that in a democracy the competition of ideas and free speech should combat beliefs that it does not agree with - more speech and debate, not censorship.

Free speech is not a bogus issue. It is an issue.

Free speech includes the right to not speak.

Hate speech can't be a part of free speech.

Individuals have a right to freedom of speech.

I don't think we should be deprived of the privilege of free speech.

Now is the time to draw a clean, clear, bright line and say if you are engaging in speech over the Internet you do not have to check with your lawyer or your accountant. You are a free American, and you have the opportunity to engage in free speech over the Internet.

Any kind of restrictions put on free speech would have worse consequences than bullying.

Privacy is not explicitly spelled out in the Constitution as freedom of speech is in the First Amendment.

I don't think we should view corporations as people for the purposes of speech.

I'm as keen as the next person to preserve the right to free speech.

We need to defend absolutely the freedom of speech.