NRB Urges FCC Not To Open Proceeding on 'Hate' Speech

The National Religious Broadcasters has asked the Federal Communications Commission not to open a proceeding on whether broadcasters use of the term Redskins is "hate" speech.

That came in response to a petition by legal activist John Banzhaf to deny Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's license to operate radio station WWXX-FM on the grounds that use of the term is not in the public interest because it is akin to obscenity and may also be "hate" speech. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, NRB President Dr. Jerry Johnson said he was alarmed that Banzhaf had raised the "hate speech" issue. NRB has historically fought efforts to restrict so-called hate speech, arguing that it could restrict speech in opposition to gay marriage or abortion as "hate" speech. He points to Banzhaf's statement that "the general topic of 'hate speech' is so broad and complex, potentially covering many different types of words and statements, and many different types of harm as to which the causal connection may be vague if not indeed nonexistent." "What constitutes true 'hate speech' is convoluted, yet the connotations of such an accusation are extremely grave," Johnson said. "Sadly, this term has been used recklessly by some in our nation and other democracies in an attempt to expunge opposing viewpoints from the marketplace of ideas."