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Public Swearing In Middleborough, Mass. Now Subject To Fine

Travelsonic

Travelsonic

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Can't make this **** up, folks.

[ARTICLE LINK]
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. — Residents in Middleborough voted Monday night to make the foul-mouthed pay fines for swearing in public.
At a town meeting, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 fine on public profanity.
Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks.
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Is that $20 per word? Did they provide a list of words? I'd like to drive through the streets blasting George Carlin's "7 Words You Can't Say on TV" and "Incomplete List of Impolite Words" and just want to be prepared.
 
Yep. Welcome to the Communistwealth of Massachusetts boys and girls. Please check all sanity and common sense upon crossing the NY, RI, CT, VT, ME, or (especially) NH state border.

There is already a $50 fine that can be imposed in Middleborough for Disorderly Conduct, but apparently that wasn't sufficient for them.

I'm no fan of swearing, period. Whether it's in public or in private, but I understand that it's protected under the First Amendment. The better option would have been for the police to start enforcing the No Loitering laws, and for private business owners to request people leave their property if thy engage in the use of such language.

This ranks right up there with the Harvard, MA woman who was ARRESTED during a traffic stop a while back for an unpaid dog license fee.
 
Freedom of speech?
I want my ******* freedom of speech!
 
tessaesque said:
Is that $20 per word? Did they provide a list of words? I'd like to drive through the streets blasting George Carlin's "7 Words You Can't Say on TV" and "Incomplete List of Impolite Words" and just want to be prepared.
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It's a one-shot deal. Per instance, not word. They were asked for a list of words and the town council declined to include one, basically saying that it would be up to the opinion of the officer.
 
Tigger said:
Yep. Welcome to the Communistwealth of Massachusetts boys and girls. Please check all sanity and common sense upon crossing the NY, RI, CT, VT, ME, or (especially) NH state border.

There is already a $50 fine that can be imposed in Middleborough for Disorderly Conduct, but apparently that wasn't sufficient for them.

I'm no fan of swearing, period. Whether it's in public or in private, but I understand that it's protected under the First Amendment. The better option would have been for the police to start enforcing the No Loitering laws, and for private business owners to request people leave their property if thy engage in the use of such language.

This ranks right up there with the Harvard, MA woman who was ARRESTED during a traffic stop a while back for an unpaid dog license fee.
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I don't know what - or who - is stupider, the fact that this bill is in the books, or the people on various sites [HuffPo, CNN and Fox News article comment sections, etc] who justify this bill.
 
Travelsonic said:
I don't know what - or who - is stupider, the fact that this bill is in the books, or the people on various sites [HuffPo, CNN and Fox News article comment sections, etc] who justify this bill.
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I can understand the idea behind it. The younger generations have really allowed quite a few unpleasant and inappropriate terms to become part of the staple of their language. From full on swears to vulgarities and other things. I'm sure it's probably rather difficult to walk through the downtown of most cities without hearing that type of language these days. However, this is not really the right answer. Though I did hear an interesting suggestion for this on the radio last week.... All officers should be armed with a bar of Lava soap to wash the mouths of offenders out instead of the fine.
 
Tigger said:
It's a one-shot deal. Per instance, not word. They were asked for a list of words and the town council declined to include one, basically saying that it would be up to the opinion of the officer.
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Awesome! $20 to throw this stupid law in their faces? I'm game.
 
tessaesque said:
Awesome! $20 to throw this stupid law in their faces? I'm game.
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Realize that multiple offenses at the same time could lead to that $50 Disorderly Conduct fine, or arrest for disturbing the peace. Gonna be interesting to see how that line is drawn.
 
Tigger said:
I can understand the idea behind it.
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Yeah, so can I - the problem is, what I've seen with the commentary is that it seem like many of those supporting the ordinance don't have a clue as to how our constitution works.
 
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