From the San Francisco Chronicle comes a report that the Ninth US District Court of Appeals, that body that the right wingers like to call the most liberal and activist court in the land, has upheld the free speech rights of whack job conservatives. I applaud the ruling, as free speech is one of our most fundamental rights. That is not to say that I applaud the people presenting ugly messages to school children. Here’s an excerpt of the story from the Chronicle:

A federal appeals court gave an anti-abortion group the go-ahead Wednesday to drive trucks with enlarged photos of aborted fetuses past California schools, saying the Constitution protects the display of disturbing messages.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies interfered with free speech by ordering the driver of one such truck to move away from a middle school, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The deputies had cited a state law barring disruptive activities near public school grounds.

“The government cannot silence messages simply because they cause discomfort, fear or even anger,” said a panel of three judges - Harry Pregerson, Marsha Berzon and William Fletcher, all considered liberals.

To be constitutional, the state law can prohibit speech that is disruptive because of the way it is expressed - for example, through a blaring loudspeaker - but not because of its content, said Pregerson, the author of the ruling.

Free speech is a fundamental right, no doubt. But there has to be something wrong in the head for people to present this ugly and gory message to school children. It surprises me not that these radical right wing Christian conservatives think this is just OK.

Still, I applaud the Court. It is not their fault that some people in this country can be so ugly and distasteful.