Fighting Words
Contents
- 1. My son is in college and has been taunted and threatened by other students about his sexuality. Are their comments protected free speech?
- 2. My husband criticized the sheriff's department and threatened to beat up a deputy. He was arrested. Does the First Amendment not allow him to express his opinions?
- 3. Our city wants to pass an ordinance making it illegal to insult public school teachers or use abusive language towards them. Is this constitutional?
Speech that provokes another person to violence in retaliation is termed "fighting words." Since a breach of the peace and criminal behavior is at issue, "fighting words" is a narrow category of speech that may be regulated. In fact, courts have labelled fighting words to be a non-speech element of communication completely outside the scope of the First Amendment.
It is important to understand what type of speech does not fit within the fighting words category. Imprudent, thoughtless, tasteless and offensive comments are not fighting words, nor are racial slurs or confrontational language. Crude and profane gestures do not equate to fighting words. Profanities and vulgarities fall outside the category as well.
My son is in college and has been taunted and threatened by other students about his sexuality. Are their comments protected free speech?
No. If the other students meant to provoke retaliation and scare your son into believing he was in imminent danger of bodily harm, their speech is not protected.
My husband criticized the sheriff's department and threatened to beat up a deputy. He was arrested. Does the First Amendment not allow him to express his opinions?
Yes. However, threats of physical violence against law enforcement agents are "fighting words," and he can be arrested for breaching the peace on the basis of uttering those threats.
Our city wants to pass an ordinance making it illegal to insult public school teachers or use abusive language towards them. Is this constitutional?
No. Mere insults and annoying comments are not "fighting words" and cannot be restrained by regulation. The ordinance must specifically define the prohibited speech so that it falls within the "fighting words" category.