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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMassachusetts town orders $20 fines for the minimum of cuss
Source: Associated Press
Massachusetts town orders 20 fines for the minimum of cuss
Associated Press in Middleborough, Massachusetts
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 June 2012 12.17 BST
Residents in a town outside Boston have voted in favour of fining people who swear in public.
At a town meeting on Monday night, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 (£12) penalty on public profanity.
Officials insisted the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teenagers and other young people in the city centre area and public parks.
"I'm really happy about it," Mimi Duphily, a store owner and former town selectwoman, said after the vote. "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout, but I think what we did was necessary."
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Associated Press in Middleborough, Massachusetts
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 June 2012 12.17 BST
Residents in a town outside Boston have voted in favour of fining people who swear in public.
At a town meeting on Monday night, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 (£12) penalty on public profanity.
Officials insisted the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teenagers and other young people in the city centre area and public parks.
"I'm really happy about it," Mimi Duphily, a store owner and former town selectwoman, said after the vote. "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout, but I think what we did was necessary."
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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/jun/12/massachusetts-town-fines-swearing
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Massachusetts town orders $20 fines for the minimum of cuss (Original Post)
Eugene
Jun 2012
OP
$20 for swearing? That's fucking nuts! Oh, shit, now it's $40, dammit
JustABozoOnThisBus
Jun 2012
#1
Like when someone where I once worked told me he didn't want to hear me cussing.
hobbit709
Jun 2012
#5
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,387 posts)1. $20 for swearing? That's fucking nuts! Oh, shit, now it's $40, dammit
a night on the town could get expensive.
Dawgs
(14,755 posts)2. I hope these people don't travel to Ireland much.
They have no problem saying 'fuck' in public.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)3. Fuck Middleborough. n/t
pinto
(106,886 posts)4. One thing I miss about Massachusetts - Town Meetings.
Anything and everything can come up for a vote...
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)5. Like when someone where I once worked told me he didn't want to hear me cussing.
I replied, "It's my birthday and I'm so fornicating happy I could just defecate!"
Fozzledick
(3,860 posts)6. I wonder how much this is going to cost the town in damages and legal fees
for violating 1st amendment protected civil rights to free speech?
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)8. self delete
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)7. Ha, I tricked myself
At first I thought: no way, first amendment trumps this, can't be real story. Then I saw that it was the Guardian and the fines were in pounds and thought "oh ok, that makes sense".
Then I read the story and saw I had it right the first time.
Fuck, still too early. Need my goddamned coffee.