Why I Support This Campaign

I believe in free speech in public. This includes online.

Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of human rights, in my opinion, and that of many others as shown by the US Bill of Rights (1791) and the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Censorship by governments is directly in opposition to this basic freedom.

I believe that the only way to keep my freedoms is to allow others the same freedoms.

I may not like what others have to say. In fact, I may detest it. I would prefer that hate sites, child porn sites and the like vanish from the universe. However, I believe that unless I acknowledge their right to say what they think, I have no right to free speech myself.

I see a difference between lying or slander and opinion. I support the freedom of people to express their opinions, whether or not I agree with them. I don't support spreading malicious untruths.

While I realize that it's sometimes hard to sort out the truth from lies or opinions at times, I feel we have to just do our best with that. Sometimes we will fail, I expect, since we're all human. Many things of value are difficult, and I don't find that difficulty is a good reason to curtail freedoms.