Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 05/19/2014 2:59:28 PM PDT by Darren McCarty
Swear in downtown Brighton near the Imagination Station playground, and there’s a good chance you’ll be getting a ticket.
Colin Andersen learned this lesson the hard way.
Upset that his friend had been ticketed for skateboarding in downtown Brighton and told to leave, Andersen said he was simply venting when he said, “This is f------ bull----.”
The 19-year-old Brighton resident was hanging out with his friends on a sunny April day in a parking lot next to the pavilion and Imagination Station; Andersen said he swore under his breath and no children heard him.
However, a Brighton Police Department officer heard him and issued him a ticket for disorderly conduct.
“What got me to start arguing a little bit, they were asking all of us to leave because he got a ticket,” Andersen said. “That’s not fair. We’re just standing around.”
(Excerpt) Read more at livingstondaily.com ...
I thought these kind of ordinances have gone to court in the past and ruled unconstitutional, kind of like a cop writing someone a ticket for flipping them the bird.
I believe that the law itself would have to list the offending words in order to be effective and enforceable. That will take some imagination and skill. Perhaps Hillary can get some good publicity here...
Right here in Michigan was the case of the canoeist swearing which went to the supreme court.
I recall that, what was the outcome?
Like Porngraphy and abortion laws, laws against obscenities in public places were constitutional for over a century.
Then American children lost the 1960s sexual revolution and many of the laws intended to protect them became unconstitutional.
Rather than a ticket a bar of soap and a toothbrush might be a more appropriate response.
My daughter used a bar of soap on my grandson for talking back. After a few times he finally got the message and turned into a very respectful and polite teenager. He jokes about it now that he is a young adult and says Lava was the absolutely worst to use.
But discipline and enforcement need to start at home when the children are small. Certainly having parents who don’t use salty language is important.
I would like to see judges take some creative approaches with teenagers. Giving them a ticket and a fine turns out to be a joke to them.
I’m not quite sure but here is the wiki write up on obscenity laws in the USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscenity#United_States_obscenity_law
I can see both sides of this. It’s very much like the saggy pants topic in another thread. I hate the lack of civility in language in public these days, too, but I think I hate the law intruding in absolutely everything a little bit more.
There used to be laws against stuff like this....and spitting on the sidewalk.
Heh!
Shoulda heard the kids at the park I went to with my Sons about 2 weeks ago.
“MFrs”
“N-Words”
“SOB”
And other various forms of horrid profanities.
From kids aged 9-17.
Shades of “Demolition Man”? Next we will be required to use sea shells in the bathroom. ;-)
How about an extra $10.00 for the FReepathon every time someone swears?
society in general lacks social graces today... yes, everybody now proclaims their rights... okay—we have certain rights... that does not mean we have to spew them all over the place... social graces... putting the other person before ourselves... consideration...
"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."
~Ronald Reagan, quoted in New York Times, 22 September 1980
Imho, the government should not be involved in every aspect of our lives. This is a bad law.
I think that things have changed a lot since I was a kid and even since I was raising my kids.
I would never never never have sworn around an adult when I was a kid. You just did not do it. I didn’t even swear much around my friends. I was not really part of our lexicon.
My kids never swore. Largely because neither my wife nor I did. One day my kids (maybe 5 and 7) and I were at the park and there were a couple of teens who were using foul language. I just said, “Hey guys, clean it up.” And they did. Saw them several times at the park after that and no problem.
Today, same park situation might get you killed. Things have changed.
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