Toplines: Free Speech

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters

June 12, 2008

1* Generally speaking, is free speech good or bad for the United States?

88% Good

4% Bad

8% Not sure

2* 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?

28% Yes

53% No

19% Not sure

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

74% Allowing free speech without government interference

11% Letting government decide

15% Not sure

4* Do news reporters regularly abuse their freedom of speech rights?

45% Yes

33% No

22% Not sure

5* In France, animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot criticized a Muslim ceremony involving the slaughter of sheep. She was brought to trial and fined $23,000 for provoking racial hatred. In Canada, a magazine was brought to trial for publishing an article saying that the rise of Islam threatened Western values. Should United States law be changed so that these forms of speech are against the law?

8% Yes

75% No

17% Not sure

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