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Free speech has limits

Retired Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Nieto understands the price of freedom.

The former infantryman gave the country and the Corps 25 years on active duty, serving two tours in Vietnam. He also gave his son, Engineman 2nd Class Marc Ian Nieto, who died during the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the destroyer Cole.

But on Nov. 10, Nieto filed a federal lawsuit against Col. Richard Flatau, the base commander at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Lt. Col. James Hessen, base magistrate, claiming they violated his rights to freedom of speech and due process.

A 14-year civilian employee at Lejeune, Nieto sued because of a ruling barring his car from the base because it is festooned with anti-Islam bumper stickers.

A base order prohibits vehicles from displaying extremist, indecent, sexist or racist messages. Most people would agree that messages on Nieto’s maroon Scion fit the bill: they equate the entire Muslim faith with terrorism, and include vulgar messages and images.

Alerted to the offending stickers, base officials say, they gave Nieto several opportunities to bring the car within standards. He refused.

Nieto’s lawsuit claims he is being singled out, that other potentially offensive messages, such as images of the Confederate flag, are ignored.

But the courts have consistently ruled that there are limits to free speech, and commanders have a responsibility to maintain good order and discipline on a base.

Nieto and his family paid a terrible price at the hands of terrorists, and his grief is understandable.

But that doesn’t give him the right to broadcast a blanket indictment of an entire religion while driving on base. Limiting what amounts to hate speech by setting rules for bumper stickers falls well within those bounds.