Yesterday, the Senate voted 63-34 to adopt English as the “national language” of the United States. The move, which doesn’t call for any changes in the way government business is conducted, was largely symbolic. Nevertheless, the Associated Press reports that a top Democrat threw down the race card to denounce the measure:

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada [said,] “I really believe this amendment is racist.”

I’ve written before about the danger posed by hate speech laws. Harry Reid is yet more proof. If declaring English the national language of the United States is racist, then speaking out in favor of it could be considered hate speech.

What if the United States had a hate speech law? What if Harry Reid were the Democratic Senate Majority Leader instead of the Minority Leader? And what if someone who shared Reid’s view occupied the White House? An in-power political coalition could conceivably use hate speech laws to criminally prosecute its opposition.

As far-fetched as that might sound, it’s already happening on college campuses. And even though college campuses tend to be rather extreme when compared to your average American town, there are many municipalities that are similarly extreme: San Francisco, Berkeley, Seattle, Ann Arbor, Portland, etc.

There is a movement brewing for local hate speech laws. And you can expect them to be used just as speech codes are on college campuses: as a club with which to beat political enemies into submission.