triticale - the wheat / rye guy

No It Isn't!

Charlie had a caller this morning who insisted that because an airline refused to allow a man to board a plane while displaying a provocative message on his tee-shirt the Constitution is being trampled and we are all losing our freedom of speech. This isn't a freedom of speech issue. It is a freedom not to have speech imposed upon us issue. The Constitution states very specifically that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. The only laws Congress made which have any bearing on this matter are laws defining the rights and responsibilities of the airline regarding what happens on and around their aircraft.

OTOH, the caller shortly thereafter who insisted that because the message on the tee-shirt terrorized the other passengers, he was a terrorist and should be treated as such. Maybe this would be valid if he had revealed the message after the plane was airborne, but as it happened he was only a raise concernist. The caller was trying to build a slippery slope going uphill, and that doesn't work.

Update:

Here's a real clear take on the act of speech in question.