A study by the Pew Research Center shows that Millennials (ages 18-34) are less likely than other generations to support free speech. Four in ten of that generation say that the government should be able to ban public statements offensive to minority groups. The good news from the study is that 67 percent of Americans support free speech consistent with past polls. (Townhall.com, November 22, 2015, by Matt Vespa)
The demographic group lest tolerant of censorship is white, college-educated Republican men over 70. (CNSNews.com, November 25, 2015, by Sam Dorman)
A guest writer in York Daily Record, December 2, 2015, expressed his dismay over the Millennial finding, “Heaven knows that the right of free speech can be abused, and it is abused every day. I think that people traipsing around New York chanting for “dead cops” are about as abusive to the right of free speech as one can get. In fact, they are walking advertisements for curtailing it. However, I think that free speech is the basis for the rest of our constitutional rights. How can we defend those other rights if we aren’t allowed to say what we think?”