What is most troubling about this law is not that the state has again sought to violate the constitutional rights of citizens or companies. It is that it will not matter to voters. Hochul and state legislators knew that there will be no political costs for passing laws that violate the First Amendment. Today, free speech is often portrayed today as harmful and even a threat to democracy.
Indeed, anti-free speech sites like Above the Law previously mocked the lawsuit and suggested that the plaintiffs were made to look like fools in court. Volokh and others were denounced as fighting for hate speech while others like “Trans folks . . . have been suffering the joys of ‘free speech.’” The site described arguments made before Carter as simply embarrassing and told readers that “[t]he best thing about this is that those in opposition of the law are clearly grabbing at straws.” It appears that, despite what Above the Law viewed as silly arguments in court, those plaintiffs and their lawyers just secured a sweeping First Amendment victory.
One would hope that citizens would be outraged when their leaders seek to limit their constitutional rights. The opposite will be true. This stinging loss will be met with the appreciation of many in the public for having tried to limit free speech in the name of fighting hate.
[“Above the Law,” indeed. Hochul and the New York legislature keeps thinking that’s a description of their authority. That’s been true on 2nd Amendment issues for years, and now we can add 1st Amendment issues as well. It’s cases like these that demonstrate the wisdom and necessity of the enumerated rights in the Constitution, because clearly we cannot rely on elected officials to protect them otherwise. — Ed]
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