Does god have to allow evil to exist so we can have free will?

People often ask,  "If god exists why does he allow so much evil in the world.  The standard religious apologetic  is that god has to allow man to do evil  otherwise man wouldn't have free will and would just be an automaton.  This apologetic makes the false assumption that free will is absolute when it most certainly is not. I cannot free will myself to walk through walls, appear on Mars and return, look like Jessica Alba, stop feeling pain, and so on but no one would deny that I have free will despite those restrictions on it.

By the same token, assuming god exists, he could prevent us from doing evil and we would still have free will to decide who we love, which job we take, what kind of house to live in, what to eat, what kind of car to drive, and so on. Not being able to do evil would not stop us from having limited free will just as we do now.

The idea that god allows evil to exist so that humans can have free will is obviously bunk, a cheap, false excuse to attempt to justify an all powerful and all knowing god that unjustifiably allows evil to exist.

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”

There is a long list of evil things in the world, only god's nonexistence could excuse his inaction.

The essence of morality is "do whatever you want, but harm no one".

Gayness is moral by definition as it harms no one.

Denying gays equal rights is by definition immoral as it harms innocent people.

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