Penn State got a lesson in free speech last week, and it wasn't delivered by a media law professor.

While religious extremists Michael and Tamika Venyah and Chris Lemieux shared their anti-gay sentiments outside the Willard Building, most Penn State students and faculty had no choice but to bite their tongues and keep moving.

Some chose to listen and others chose to voice their own opinions in protest.

It's safe to say most passers-by were at least a little bit irked by the visitors' T-shirts, which read things like "All homos are going to hell."

Was it offensive? Absolutely. Was it distracting? For sure.

But the important thing for the Penn State community to remember is that what the Venyahs and Lemieux did last week was not illegal.

Their choice to bash the gay community may have been repulsive to most of us, but it is exactly the type of speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

As the cliché goes, the First Amendment was written to protect the minority, not the majority.

Even hate speech, as some have classified the anti-gay message to be, is protected as long as it does not incite violence.

What happened last week should also be regarded as an opportunity for the LGBTA community to create a dialogue and thus further their cause.

There was a heck of a lot of student stupport for the gay community during this demonstration, and LGBTA organizations would be doing themselves a favor by capitalizing on it.

Go to the administration and use this as an example for why an LGBTA minor is necessary at this university. Lobby for additional programming at Penn State. And most of all, demand respect.

Anti-gay extremists like the Venyahs might be excruciatingly frustrating for Penn State students, but they also present an opportunity for change.

We'd be foolish not to use it.