Reason #876,931 to Hate the French--Free Speech Edition

Socialists hate free speech. Don't get me wrong, they adore free speech when it is words they approve of.

Here's a great example:

The French parliament has adopted a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered "genocide" at the hands of the Turks, infuriating Turkey.

The bill, proposed by the Socialists and opposed by the government, needs approval from the Senate and president.

...The bill sponsored by the opposition Socialist party provides for a year in jail and a 45,000-euro (£30,000) fine - the same punishment that is imposed for denying the Nazi Holocaust.

They have actually passed another law that that makes it a crime to deny an event. Just as I've said when dealing with this issue with Holocaust deniers--let them speak then ridicule them for their idiocy. By denying them the opportunity to deny only allows the issue to fester.

The genocide of the Armenians was a sad time in the world where we didn't react to the senseless slaughter because of WWI, thus allowing it to continue.

In America, we have a group of people who believe 9/11 was a government conspiracy, should we make it a crime for them to state their views, however misguided? Definitely not.

Link via Free Republic.

Update: This guy sees things a bit differently.