[New York Times - opinion]

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., who has become one of the First
Amendment’s most adamant defenders, led the Supreme Court earlier this
year in refusing to create a new exception to the free speech clause.
With only one dissent, the court struck down a law that banned
depictions of animal cruelty. The House has come back with a
replacement bill that is an improvement over its predecessor but still
misses the constitutional point Justice Roberts made.
...
The First Amendment is a remarkably fragile institution that does not
need more exceptions carved from its meaning. But attempts to do that
arise all the time. A California case coming before the court in the
next term attempts to ban the sale of violent video games to minors,
though there is no recognized exception to the First Amendment for
violence, either. These games, and animal cruelty videos, may be
repugnant to many, but America’s legal tradition keeps them from being
illegal.

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full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/opinion/02mon2.html » Read More