A letter published in The Royal Gazette on March 14 entitled ‘Blacks are not the only ones who suffered. Move on!’ has clearly caused a great deal of offence within the community.It was never this newspaper’s intention to cause offence — and as that has happened The Royal Gazette today issues an apology.There was no malice behind the publication of the letter which was published on page clearly marked ‘opinion’. However, this newspaper does understand that with opinion and freedom of speech comes responsibility.The Royal Gazette does understand that responsibility and has acted correctly by writing this editorial, publishing a letter from Walter Roban (with an apology from the acting Editor) addressing the original letter and by giving prominence to a debate on the issue in the House of Assembly on Friday.Freedom of speech and the respect for freedom of speech is, quite clearly, alive and well.The issue of anonymous comments and letters — either in The Royal Gazette or other news mediums — was also raised during the debate in the House with calls for legislation against attacks made from behind pen names.This is an area fraught with difficulty and it is this newspaper’s opinion that no Government should ever legislate for freedom of speech.The Bermuda Constitution states: “Protection of freedom of expression 9 (1) Except with his consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, and for the purposes of this section the said freedom includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, and freedom from interference with his correspondence.”If there is an issue, it can already be taken to the courts or the Media Council of Bermuda, which was established as a media watchdog. Legislating for anonymous comments also fails to address the reasons those comments may have been made in the first place or why the author feels the need to remain anonymous.It is also a shame that while legislation for anonymous comments is being discussed in the House, Public Access to Information is not yet functioning and that a former Premier has to raise the issue of anti-corruption legislation. However, all that must not hide the fact that the publication of the letter caused offence. It has been a chastening experience.* Do you want to Tweet with me about this? Go to https://twitter.com/jeremydeacon1 and follow me.