French Free Speech

Predictably, -- at least for those of us who have some notion of the Law -- the French Supreme Court has ruled that the law that  made it a crime to deny that the 1915 mass killing of Armenians was a genocide is unconstitutional, on free speech grounds. There is just no way that you can, lawfully, punish someone for expressing his or her views, no matter how controversial or distasteful they may be. In this case, it's a matter of interpretation of a historical event that, granted, was repugnant to any civilized person. If someone wants to call it by some other name, they should not be punished for it. This would be a subject for analysis or discussion, so that people who think differently can show why it was a genocide, without the threat of the coercive power of the State on their side.

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