A bill introduced to the U.S. Senate by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) will be worth watching.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/markey-introduces-hate-speech-report-bill/130524
The question being explored asks to what extent hate messages delivered on mass media might contribute to acts of public violence.
This is a perfect example of a worthy cause (preventing hatred and violence) that might result in laws that can be mis-used to stifle free expression of opinion.
Sometimes expressing disapproval of persons or ideas on purely rational grounds might be mis-characterized as hate speech.
I became aware of this link thanks to hobbybroadcaster.net.
More crap
this is directed mainly at the right wing tea party nut job mouth pieces like savage, hannity, limbaugh, and these rabid hate mongering preachers, etc who are notorious for riling up their base against the poor and minorities and whos speech has been proven to often result in acts of violence against these groups by their followers.
and this wouldn't stifle free speech in other forms of media it would appear to only apply to broadcast media.
what we really need is the fairness doctrine reinstated. alot of this hate mongering talk show hosts are a result of the fairness doctrine being eliminated. for many years this doctrine kept talk radio hosts in check so to speak.
The Dems wont reinstate because they need access to hate speech too.