Free Speech or Hate Crime ?

A big issue when discussing hate crime and speech is the first amendment right to free speech. Should we allow white supremacists or neo-Nazis to openly insult and degrade other people because they have the right to free speech? There are many limits on free speech today that people sometimes ignore, like libel laws and privacy regulations. If someone makes the environment hostile and the rest of the people uncomfortable, should they continue to be able to say whatever they want? This issue of rights occurs between the person speaking and the open discussion this right represents to the rights of the person spoken to to be in an environment where they feel safe. But both sides are tricky because focusing only on extremely hateful speech or on the rights of the person speaking only serve to perpetuate racism and hinder diversity. An article on this issue: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010196217&mode=view