Cato has always been a faithful advocate for a robust freedom of speech.  As such, we are proud this week to participate in Free Speech Week, a celebration of the freedom so important they put it first in the Bill of Rights.

As part of this week’s ongoing celebration of free speech, we will be posting highlights from Cato’s recent work to support freedom of speech in its various forms, whether through legal advocacy, media appearances, or other public outreach.

Today’s highlight focuses on an event held here at Cato last week, in which author Jonathan Rauch discussed his recently re-released and expanded book Kindly Inquisitors. In the book, Rauch, an openly-gay advocate for gay marriage, argues that government suppression of discriminatory language and “hate speech” does more harm to gays and minorities than it helps.  Rauch’s book, originally published in 1993, contributes a number of valuable insights to the dialogue on free speech and the consequences of curtailing it to protect certain groups.

Rauch was joined by Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Brian Moulton of the Human Rights Campaign & Cato’s John Samples. Please check out the video below:

For more information on Free Speech Week and to learn how you can help celebrate free speech, check out www.FreeSpeechWeek.org.