[citation][nom]ravewulf[/nom]Incorrect.For example, you can't yell "fire" in a theatre, or "bomb" at an airport, etc. There are reasonable restrictions on free speech when the safety of others is a concern.[/citation]
I was wondering when someone would bring up this example. There is a fundamental difference. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, or "bomb" on an airplane are both examples of where an individual is on privately owned property (and not their property), and doing something which would only be expected in certain situations, and which which illicit a specific response.
Now, have someone stand in the middle of a park and yell "fire" or "bomb" and people would look at him like he is nuts and keep walking. Have that person stand in the middle of his own yard and do that, people would probably ignore him entirely (please don't start bring up example of condos in New York... you're just degenerating to a specificity at that point).
This guy is taking books that he owns and burning them on his property in a form of protest. This is no different that the idiots who burn and defile American flags to protest, who burn bibles and desecrate Christian holy symbols to protest (or for artistic expression). Even when Bush was in office, we didn't get White House press releases about that.
In the past, when pro-life extremists have bombed abortion clinics and/or killed abortion doctors, there was no serious national discussion about whether or not we should stop performing abortions so as not to anger the pro-life extremists. Abortion doctors continued their work, even under threats of death, and women continued to exercise control over their bodies, even while being harassed by protestors. And... abortion isn't even a right mentioned in the Constitution! Yet, we stand up against violent extremists to protect it because... that's what Americans do.
We have never bowed to the will of tyrants or oppressors, and we have never negotiated with terrorists. Should we change all of that now because we are afraid of the reaction of followers of this "religion of peace"? Have we decended so far that the Right which we hold above all others will now have its limits defined by our fear?