Freedom of speech does not apply in this case:

[northoftheborder]

The crazy preacher, Terry Jones, who went ahead and burned the Koran has caused 12 people at the UN office in Afghanastan to be murdered. IMO he should be arrested on charges of accessory to murder, or incitement to riot, or SOMETHING. He has to be held accountable for his actions.

[Taverner]

1. Using 'fighting words'?

[cali]

9. no way would that pass muster.

[Drale]

2. The blood is on the hands of the Media

if they didn't report this guy, no one would have ever heard of Terry Jones and his nut job followers.

[hack89]

4. No - the blood is on the hands of the killers

unless you think they had no choice to kill those people.

[cali]

12. oh for the love of reason. the blood is primarily on the hands of those

who slaughtered innocent people.

[Bandit]

24. There are laws about incitement..

Granted those that often incite do not actually participate in the violence that follows but in many cases they are prosecuted as well..I would say the Preacher did his very best to incite violence.. There is no other logical reason for his actions. And now that violen ce occured everyone is saying he has no fault.. I say bull crap. Yes those that actually did the murders are fully responsible but they don't do things like that every day. They felt they had cause..

[cali]

26. as I said, there is no way that that claim would pass muster

burning a book would never be considered incitement.

[Bandit]

29. So it is your intention that he did not try to incite violence?

I feel he did because I can not grasp any other reason for his actions. Yes you are correct in this country he could never be tried but in Afghanistan or many other countries, things might be different.. We in America are not the only people that matter on this earth.

[arcane1]

31. I think his main goal waas to incite attention n/t

[onenote]

28. yes there are laws prohibiting "incitement". And they are limited by the First Amendment

http://supreme.justia.com/us/395/444/case.html

[fishwax]

37. I blame the killers n/t

[hack89]

3. Unfortunately, yes it does

unless you really think that murdering innocent people is a reasonable and expected result of his actions. By that logic, no one can say anything negative about Islam.

[cali]

5. codswallop. the asshole has every right to burn any book he wants to

and so do you. So do I. And the 1st Amendment sure as fuck does apply in this case. In fact, this case is what the 1st amendment is primarily meant to protect.

Ridiculous op.

[COLGATE4]

17. K&R X1000!

[onenote]

6. If someone burned the American flag during an anti-war protest and counterprotesters

rioted and killed people, would you be saying the flag burner was responsible and should be held liable as an accessory to murder or for incitement to riot?

[Runework]

7. uh, no

he has a perfect right to do what he did

you go down that route, and what will you say when some christian cult
decides that books parodying the bible are blasphemy worth killing over?

did you support the fatwah against Rushdie?


I cant believe someone is even suggesting this here

[Quantess]

8. No. He's definitely an asshole,

but he didn't commit a crime.

Burning a book is a symbolic gesture that does not justify murder or violence.

[arcane1]

10. I have to disagree there.

He's free to burn as many of them as he wants to, and shouldn't be held liable for the actions of religious psychopaths.

[MadHound]

11. Yes, it does

In this society, in this country, I have the right to burn any book I lawfully own, be it the Bible, Koran, or Aesop's Fables.

Allowing religious nutcases in another country to deny me that right due to fear of what they might due means that those religious nutcases are now running this country.

Is what Jones did asinine, certainly. But he has every right to do it. Why are you not willing to hold responsible the other religious nutjobs, the ones who actually killed people over burning a book?

[The Straight Story]

13. So the people doing the killing were innocent? Are they animals or something?

Guess we have come to expect and make excuses for the actions of some folks (or excuse their actions).

[Riftaxe]

14. Absolutely right!

The murders of UN workers, by Foreign nationals on their own soil has absolutely nothing to do with the first Amendment, unless your advocating for the stripping of an American Citizen (nutcase) Terry Jones.

If I see a typo in one of your posts, then go out and murder 4 people because I was enraged over your flawed spelling, should you be an accessory to the murders I committed?

I think it would be best if you refrained from posting a reply or anything else online in that case, just so we don't have to test that thesis... :evilgrin:

But burning the quoran was absolutely an indisputable exercise in free speech.

[Cid_B]

15. Except you know... not...

[Union Scribe]

16. What about those cartoonists who drew Mohammed?

Do they also have blood on their hands?

Sick people who value life so little that they'll kill over something like that are at fault here. Yeah, sick hatemongers like Jones aren't much better, but they aren't the same either.

[northoftheborder]

18. I commented in light of.....

.....the fact that he was warned by governmental officials that his action to burn the Koran, though supposedly free, WOULD CAUSE LOSS OF LIFE. I still think he has to be held responsible for something.

[cali]

19. under our laws there is nothing he can be charged with.

[Runework]

20. Mcdonalds advertising big macs kills people too

.

[MadHound]

21. The all you do is give the religious nutcases in Afghanistan power over our freedom of speech

Is that what you really want to do?

Look, I don't agree with what Jones did, but I will defend his right to do it. You cannot allow other people, other nations, have any sort of control over our freedom of speech. It is that simple.

Put the blame where it truly belongs, with the nutjobs who killed the UN workers. Not some goofball exercising his legally protected right to freedom of speech.

[Fuzz]

22. Bah, no way. It's just another book of fairy tales.

[CBGLuthier]

23. Nonsense. Sheer utter nonsense.

A bunch of idiotic members of a backwards childish religion got their panties in a bunch and did the killing.

No, if those same fucking idiots kill someone because I said theer religion is childish and backward are you suggesting I am responsible?

Below nonsense. Stupid nonsense.

[Old Troop]

25. By this logic, if I burn a bible in Alabama and skinheads in Germany

kill some atheists, I've got their blood on my hands.

[Rex]

27. He indirectly caused the events and that is where things get complex.

Now had he directly caused the events, then that would be different. Terry Jones is an abomination to the human race, killing people for having nothing to do with a book burning thousands of miles away is also an abomination imo.

[Nye Bevan]

30. OK. So the creator of "Piss Christ" should also be arrested for incitement

if it provoked a Christian to start shooting at someone.

And *you* should actually be arrested if I am so upset by your spelling of "Afghanistan" that I decide to murder somebody.

[backscatter712]

32. OOOH!!! Can I incite violence too?

[backscatter712]

33. Oh, and so the Christians don't think I'm just picking on them...

Here's a picture of Mohammed to tweak the Muslims!

[devils chaplain]

35. LOL at both N/T

[devils chaplain]

34. So...

If these religious nuts would do the same over simple criticism of their fictional book, would you want criticism of it to be illegal as well?

[Shagbark Hickory]

36. If it was because of him, why didn't they just murder him? nt

[applegrove]

38. I read or heard somewhere that they caught at least some of the killers. Yeah I wish there

was something we could do to Terry Jones to make him and those like him stop. Unfortunately he is getting more notoriety as we type. And that is what he wants. It surely is crazy season in the GOP. All you have to do is out crazy the next goper and you get all the riches that come with being famous (which means power if you are michelle Bachman and you make up history so you can comiserate with the base when you get bashed for being stupid). I bet ya Terry Jones attracts more congregants. I just bet ya.

[darkstar3]

39. Yes it does, unless you consider banning blasphemy to be a good thing.