National Survey of 1,000 Adults
Conducted October 29-30, 2009

By Rasmussen Reports

1* How closely have you followed recent news reports about “hate crime” laws– very closely, somewhat closely, not very closely or not at all?

22% Very closely
40% Somewhat closely
24% Not very closely
12% Not at all
1% Not sure

2* Should criminals be prosecuted more severely if it can be proved that their crime was motivated by the victim’s race, color, religion, national original or sexual orientation?

49% Yes
31% No
19% Not sure

3* Many European countries and Canada do not have full freedom of speech, but instead have laws to prevent hate speech. Would it be a good idea for the United States to ban hate speech?

23% Yes
56% No
21% Not sure

4* Which is better—allowing free speech without government interference or letting government decide what types of hate speech should be banned?

73% Allowing free speech without government interference
12% Letting government decide what types of hate speech should be banned
16% Not sure

5* What is more important—giving people the right to free speech or making sure no one is offended by what others say?

79% Giving people the right to free speech
12% Making sure no one is offended by what others say
9% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence