The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a free press and free speech. Those rights, however are not unlimited. In Protecting Hate Speech: R.A.V. v. St. Paul, award-winning author Susan Dudley Gold looks at the issues involved when the Minnesota city of St. Paul tried to ban hate speech within its borders. The clear, entertaining account of the case explores the fine line legislators must walk when putting restrictions of free speech. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case has become a testament to the sanctity of the First Amendment, even when it protects hateful speech and symbolic acts that most Americans despise.
