Special to the Press-Citizen

America’s founding documents declared King George a despot and a tyrant, so naturally we enshrined broad rights in our Constitution, including an expansive right to speak our minds in the First Amendment . Unlike people in other countries, we can insult our leaders , spread Nazi propaganda , and indulge in hate speech with only social, not legal, consequences.

But there are limits even here. Laws cannot limit what we are protesting , but they can limit where and when we protest, forbid us from inciting crimes , and prohibit us from groundlessly harming others or their reputations.

That last one is a major – and complicated – exception to our First Amendment rights: we have no right to defame others. Defamation is negligently making untruthfu

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