It is a foundational tenet of our society that people can’t be thrown in jail for what they say. Once that premise is dismantled – and dismantled publicly, with great fanfare – then it’s popped like a soap bubble. It’s not a question of a slippery slope. The dividing line between speech and conduct either provides protection or it doesn’t. Once that wall is taken down the damage has already been done.

http://www.lawandsecurity.org/get_article/?id=148