christian grantham
Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD.
	latest posts   Law Student 'Marriage' Article   Free Speech Thugs in Placerville, CA   GANNONGATE: Instahypocrisy   'Motion Of The Ocean' Caused By 'Pleasure Seekers'   Did New HIV Strain Spread Through GAY.com?

February 14, 2005

Residents of Placerville, CA have deemed their town a "hate-free and discrimination-free city." But what gives them the right to deem anti-gay signs and messages around the city as "hate-speech," and how do they intend to enforce such a zone?

Last week, the sparring moved from sidewalk demonstrations and freeway banners to Town Hall as Placerville City Council members issued a proclamation declaring theirs a "hate-free and discrimination-free city." The message will be reinforced publicly today during a 2 p.m. rally on the steps of the El Dorado County Courthouse on Placerville's Main Street.

In the discussion that followed Tuesday night's proclamation, gays and lesbians as well as those opposing gay marriage described themselves as victims in a clash of basic rights: freedom of speech versus life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
[Anti-gay message stirs ire in town - Sacremento Bee - 02-13-05]

The free marketplace of ideas has a way of properly valuing people's messages only when the channels of communication are flooded with society's general common sense. That requires people with common sense exercise their own right to free speech and either 1) support the message or 2) counter the message. Lapsing into apathy or resorting to censorship during society's battle of ideas is the very fuel ignorance needs to subvert the free marketplace of ideas.