I find it amusing that someone would actually use the word “bigot” while advocating the use of state power to stop people from uttering phrases too scandalous to be pronounced in public. Just let that sink in for a minute. The fact that the measures used to punish and deter would be lenient (and thus, presumably, not even up to the task) actually makes the whole thing even worse (prostituting a principle that has been hard sought and won during the ’60/’70s to achieve, in the best case, very little -the rape of a central, foundational right, and it is all for nothing-), and the target deserving of being received by scorn and revulsion doesn’t exactly make any difference. Consider that the opponent of the death penalty doesn’t exactly change his mind if instead of an unjustly accused mentally ill convict you put a genocidal maniac without which the world would be a better place (say, Hitler -now, I am not saying that I agree here, but consider Ghandi’s position on Nazism, as related by Orwell, to see how someone that does take certain rights seriously would be unpersuaded by the recourse to vile opponents and society’s convenience as counterarguments-), nor does the opponent to the use of torture change his view if it is pointed out to him that in a so called “ticking bomb” scenario he should consider the entire society and view what he consider to be an absolute right (the right to free speech and free expression in one case, habeas corpus and connected rights in the other). I am not discussing the validity of the two last propositions, but simply pointing how to someone that actually takes a certain right (the right to free expression and free speech, here) seriously the cited considerations about “the targets of the measure are vile, despicable people” or “it would benefit society as a whole” would seem feeble at best. This, despite the measures taken being underwhelming in strength and scope (application, strength of the deterrent). As a matter of principle, this is actually worse, because a fundamental right is still being compromised, but in a half hearted way that will likely bring little or no benefit, to boot.