The 1st Amendment guarantees the right of free expression. It does not guarantee a listener or a reader for the matter expressed.
Some publishers and booksellers seem to have a problem with a new novel that describes in nauseating detail a series of criminal activities. One local seller of books will handle it, although he doesn`t want to, to avoid charges of censorship. Other merchants in the same business are equally troubled. They see the problem of ”to sell or not to sell” as involving the 1st Amendment. It does not. It is a matter of one dealer who doesn`t stock the book losing a potential customer to another who does.
While the 1st Amendment guarantees a person`s right to write almost anything, it does not compel someone else to publish it, sell it or even read it.
