by Emily Jashinsky | Jun 19, 2017,

After a school year rocked by protests on college campuses, the Supreme Court unanimously reaffirmed that there is no so-called "hate speech" exception to the First Amendment on Monday.

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In his opinion on the case, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.'"

Justice Anthony Kennedy, in a separate opinion, echoed Alito's sentiments. "A law found to discriminate based on viewpoint is an "egregious form of content discrimination," which is "presumptively unconstitutional,'" Kennedy wrote, continuing to say, "A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all."

"The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the government's benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society," he concluded.

As progressive student activists on public campuses sought to shut down conservative or Trump-supporting speakers last school year (something the movement has done to conservatives for years), many argued their efforts were within the boundaries of the First Amendment because engaging in "hate speech" is not a constitutionally protected act. That is false. These young progressives also expand the definition of "hate speech" to include perfectly reasonable, though traditional, viewpoints on issues such as marriage and gender, but I digress.

Amid the uproar over Ann Coulter's scheduled lecture at the University of California-Berkeley, even Howard Dean, a former governor and head of the DNC, got in on the action, tweeting point blank, "Hate speech is not protected by the first amendment."

Though Dean was thoroughly corrected at the time, the Supreme Court's reaffirmation on Monday is another reminder to those who may justify similar acts of censorship when students return to campus in the fall.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/after-...article/2626419