Lawyers are calling on the Government to consider making hate speech illegal at the dinner table.
The Law Commission has proposed that the crime of stirring up hatred on the grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation should be extended to private homes.
A 500-page consultation report on reforming hate crime laws will be handed to ministers next year.
However, opponents of the rules branded the move 'neo-Marxist' and fear it could land people in jail for making a comment at the dinner table.
The Law Commission, an organisation headed by judges and lawyers which proposes legal reforms to the Government, has suggested removing the existing 'dwelling exception' for hate speech.
In its submission document, the commission said some hate crimes have an exception if the alleged offence 'cannot be seen or heard outside that or another dwelling'.
It added that this exception is 'purely targeted' and could include a meeting held in a large private home but not a private conversation in an office.
The commission said: "We therefore propose that the dwelling exception should be removed from the stirring-up offences."
Former policeman Harry Miller, who founded Fair Cop and opposes hate crime rules, said: "If the private home law is adopted by Government, a comment over the dinner table about a huge range of people could lead to a prison sentence.
"Human rights laws protecting privacy and family life would be in the bin. This is a neo-Marxist idea and will generate unfriendliness between different communities where there is none."
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell claims hate crime laws have left people scared to even tell a joke in public.
He added that the police are too busy to be investigating hate speech in private homes.
In a summary report, the Law Commission said hate speech laws were introduced to protect groups from violence started by words.
It also said they keep people well-behaved in public places, protect groups from mental and emotional harm and stop them from being treated as if they are not important.
The commission also said the rules help society work well together.
A spokesperson for the Law Commission said: “We found that the current law on incitement of racial and other forms of hatred is inconsistent and poorly targeted. Our proposals aim to clarify and improve the laws. However we are not intending for private conversations at the dinner table to be prosecuted as hate speech.
“As this is a consultation, we look forward to hearing from members of the public on how we can improve our proposals.”
