A federal judge faced the fury of a nation last Thursday when he concluded the federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry violates the First Amendment right to free speech.

It was certainly not an easy call to make, and the opinion deserves a much closer look.

On Thursday, the House voted 412-8 and the Senate 95-0 on the bill to pass the Do Not Call Registry. President Bush said he looked forward to signing the bill into legislation.

“Unwanted telemarketing calls are intrusive, annoying and all too common,” he said.

Supporters of the Do Not Call Registry say Americans have a right to say they don’t want to be pestered any longer by telemarketers, and that the government should be able to penalize companies who call people who want to be left in the peace and quiet of their homes.

The Federal Trade Commission’s rules require telemarketers to check the list every three months to see who does not want to be called.

Those who call people on the list could be fined up to $11,000 for each violation. Consumers would file complaints to an automated phone or online system. The list would block an estimated 80 percent of telemarketing calls and was supposed to go into effect today.

According to the Federal Trade Commission Web site, more than 50 million Americans have requested their telephone numbers be placed on the Do Not Call Registry.

U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham of Denver noted the law that gave birth to the Do Not Call Registry allows people to prevent businesses, but not charities, non-profits and religious groups, from calling them. In short, Nottingham ruled, the government took sides.

The law does not apply equally to all kinds of speech, because it blocks commercial telemarketing calls, but not calls from charities.

It must be noted that most Americans would rather be pulled from their family dinners to calls from charities rather than businesses. Still, the government should not give one group of Americans speech privileges that another group completely lacks.

It would be more genuine and appropriate if Congress were to allow Americans to exclude charitable calls from their dinner tables, too, along with calls from businesses.

There is a possibility of doing this, but once again, it’s a tough call to make.

Whatever the outcome, the federal government needs to guarantee equal free speech rights protected under the First Amendment to everyone, regardless of what group they represent.