Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
I still believe that almost everyone has a viewpoint that they absolutely cannot and will not tolerate, freedom of speech be damned, and if a person or company expouses such a viewpoint they would have no problem boycotting that company and having the company banned from the vicinity.
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As you alluded to earlier, freedom of speech does not mean that you can say whatever you want to without criticism (or boycotts of your business). It means that, absent something like endangering people (like shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater), the government cannot censor your speech or punish you for your speech.
People in a city signing a petition or letter to the company CEO saying we don't like your position and we don't want to see you come to our town = those people exercising their own free speech rights.
But the mayor of the city saying the same thing in his capacity as mayor (rather than his capacity as just another citizen) does get a bit too close to government censorship of speech.