" Yes. It's that time of year. Once again, there are threats to block Denver's Columbus Day Parade. Opponents have the right to protest, of course, so long as they don't interfere with others' right to assemble.

The usual opponents - the American Indian Movement and some Latino groups - have been joined by the Greater Denver Ministerial Alliance, which says African-American ministers and their followers will non-violently protest the march. Pastor Reginald Holmes, president of the alliance, accused Columbus of genocide and blamed him for starting the African slave trade to the Americas.

It's true Native Americans were forced into peonage and also that diseases Europeans brought across the Atlantic were devastating to native peoples. But Columbus died in 1506, and the first African slaves weren't brought to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola until 1510.

Parade opponents are free to express their opinions - indeed they should feel free to do so. But they do not have the right to abridge anyone else's rights for free speech and assembly."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Differing views on Columbus Day (The Denver Post 10/8)

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Column: It's wrong to compare Columbus to Hitler (10/7)