Photo White supremacists at a rally in Charlottesville, Va., last Saturday. Credit Joshua Roberts/Reuters

To the Editor:

Re The A.C.L.U. Needs to Rethink Free Speech (Op-Ed, Aug. 17):

K-Sue Park argues that the American Civil Liberties Union should rethink its approach to defending free speech after the tragic events in Charlottesville, Va. We are deeply sickened by the violence and mourn the lives lost there. The First Amendment is never a shield for violence.

There is no moral equivalency between the values of equality and justice promoted by Black Lives Matter, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and antiwar protesters, whom we have supported in our history, and the odious views of white supremacists. But we believe that the right of free speech, peacefully expressed, must extend even to those with whom we most vehemently disagree.

Ms. Park is correct that racist speech causes harm, and that speech rights, like property, privacy and liberty rights, can contribute to inequality. But allowing government officials to regulate speech based on their assessment of who is promoting equality or on the wrong side of history would be disastrous. How does Ms. Park think that Southern mayors would have used that power during the 1960s? How would President Trump use it today?

We devote the vast majority of our resources to the never-ending fight for equality for all, including communities of color, women, the L.G.B.T. community, immigrants, people with disabilities and political dissidents. But the freedoms to speak, associate and demonstrate are indispensable tools for advancing justice. We will continue to fight for equality and free speech for all.

DAVID COLE, NEW YORK

The writer is national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

To the Editor:

As an A.C.L.U. member, a Jew and a Charlottesville resident, I agree that the time has come for the A.C.L.U. to end its commitment to defend the free speech of Nazis and white supremacists.

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Free-Speech Rights and Hate Groups - New York Times