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Mayor wants Brazoria to outlaw the 'n-word'- says town should fine 'offensive' uses of racial slur
Houston Chronicle ^ | Jan. 23, 2007, 12:00AM | By RICHARD STEWART and ARMANDO VILLAFRANCA

Posted on 01/23/2007 9:00:45 AM PST by weegee

Mayor wants Brazoria to outlaw the 'n-word'

He says small town should fine 'offensive' uses of the racial slur

A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at 201 S. Main St., the town's city hall. Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley wants offensive use of the "n-word" to be punishable by a fine of up to $500 in his town.

"It's not a particular problem in Brazoria," Corley said, "but it's a national problem."

Corley said he got the idea while watching two black ministers talking on television about how offensive that word is. "I just think it would be great if this little town of Brazoria, with 2,800 people, leads the way in fighting against this offensive language," said Corley.

He said if the ordinance passes, he may ask for it to be expanded to include other racial slurs.

He believes Brazoria would be the first place in the country where the racial slur would be outlawed. But at least one legal expert said Monday that such an ordinance may not stand up in court.

The ordinance wouldn't forbid anyone from saying the word, Corley said, but would outlaw using the word in an offensive or aggressive manner. Violators would be charged with disturbing the peace, he said.

"It would be up to somebody who was offended to file a complaint, like any other disturbance complaint," he said.

The person charged would appear before a municipal judge and be liable for a fine of up to $500, he said.

Corley said he met with area ministers and about 60 percent favored the ordinance. "Even some of the ones that opposed it said they applauded me for doing this," he said.

"If the citizens at the Thursday meeting and one more public meeting support it, then I will poll my council and if they approve it, we will put it to a vote," he said. Thursday's meeting is at 6 p.m.; the second meeting hasn't been set.

Corley, who is 62, white, and grew up in Brazoria County, said he often heard the "n-word" as a youth, but now mainly hears it in rap music and used by young people to greet each other.

"Our kids are hearing this word on the radio and they're bringing it home," he said.

The ordinance would allow the word to be used as a friendly greeting, he said.

Divided opinions Councilman Randy Jones, who is white, said comments he's received from residents have been about half in favor and half against the proposed ordinance. "Those who are against it say it's not needed because it's not an issue, and those who are for it say it's way overdue," Jones said.

The Rev. Melvin Johnson, 50, pastor of Heart of Christ Christian Community, said he doesn't think the ordinance will do what Corley says he wants it to do.

As for people who use the racial slur, Johnson, who is black and a lifelong resident of Brazoria said, "they have a constitutional right to be stupid."

He said the proposal singles out the actions of one racial group (whites) against another racial group (blacks). He said he's drawn up a list of at least 40 different words that are offensive to African-Americans. "There are words that are offensive to Hispanics, Asians and whites as well," he said.

"We have issues that need to be dealt with — unemployment and poverty," Johnson said. He said he doesn't think use of the slur is a particular problem in Brazoria.

That term is mainly used by black youths, he said.

Could be tough to enforce "This ordinance is not the solution to our problem," said the Rev. Stephen Dunlap, pastor of The Church of Brazoria. "Education is the solution to our problem," said Dunlap, who is black.

The Rev. Jimmy Smith, a deacon at St. Joseph Catholic Church, who is 71 and white, said he supports the ordinance as a way to further respect between the races.

"We have to do a lot of teaching," he said. If nothing else, he noted, "it has a lot of people talking about the issue."

Gerald Treece, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law, said the ordinance probably will not stand if contested in court.

"It's one of those laws you can pass and put on the books, but when you try to enforce it, that's when you're going to run into some trouble," he said.

In the past, attempts by governmental bodies to ban the use of offensive language have been struck down because the laws were too vague or broad.

He said the use of offensive language is protected by the First Amendment. The only possible exception, he said, is if the use of the language is connected with a hate crime. The use of the word alone cannot be prohibited.

In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an attempt in St. Paul, Minn., to prohibit displays of hateful symbols after a group was charged in violation of the city's Bias Motivated Crime Ordinance for allegedly burning a cross on a black family's lawn.

The ordinance prohibited the display of a symbol which "arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender."

Symbolic resolutions The City Council in Charleston, S.C., passed a new rule this year for decorum that prevents residents from using the "n-word" during council meetings.

Under the new ordinance, speakers can be removed from council chambers for using inappropriate language. The change came after a black Muslim community activist used the word in explaining how a white would react to blacks seeking city development projects.

In Queens, N.Y., a city councilman plans to submit a resolution on Feb. 1 calling for a moratorium on the use of the word in the city. The move was more symbolic than legal.

Brazoria is one of the oldest cities in Texas. It was founded in 1828 by members of the Stephen F. Austin colony, many of them slave owners. By 1860, 72 percent of the residents of Brazoria County were slaves, the Handbook of Texas said.

According to the 2000 census, Brazoria has a 10.3 percent African-American population and 11.37 percent Hispanic population.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: hatecrimelaws; politicalcorrectness; thenword; thoughtcrime
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1 posted on 01/23/2007 9:00:48 AM PST by weegee
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To: weegee

Will this also apply to blacks who call each other the "N" word.


2 posted on 01/23/2007 9:01:28 AM PST by RetiredArmy (Marxis-Dimocrats stand for everything I hate and wish to see destroyed, including them!)
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To: RetiredArmy

Will this also apply to blacks who call each other the "N" word.
-----
Will it also apply to blacks that call whites "honkey"...???

Racial hypocrisy still abounds.


3 posted on 01/23/2007 9:03:03 AM PST by EagleUSA
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To: RetiredArmy
Will this also apply to blacks who call each other the "N" word.

If TV is a representative sample, they are the most frequent violators.

4 posted on 01/23/2007 9:03:17 AM PST by Niteranger68 (The United States is a safe haven for all cultures……except its own.)
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To: weegee

Hail, hail Brezoria, land of the free!


5 posted on 01/23/2007 9:04:43 AM PST by jimfree (Freep and ye shall find.)
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To: weegee

Hail, hail Brazoria, land of the free!


6 posted on 01/23/2007 9:05:14 AM PST by jimfree (Freep and ye shall find.)
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To: EagleUSA

Cracker, too


7 posted on 01/23/2007 9:05:16 AM PST by wastedyears ("Gun control is hitting your target accurately." - Richard Marcinko)
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To: RetiredArmy

No, the article mentions that when the protected class use it as a friendly greeting, there will be no charge.


8 posted on 01/23/2007 9:05:16 AM PST by weegee (No third term. Hillary Clinton's 2008 election run presents a Constitutional Crisis.)
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To: RacerF150
True. Way back in 1970 in Army basic training, I was stunned to hear them call each other that since it was such an offensive term to them. But, in basic they all called each other that and called whites honkey. If a white called them the N word, the fights were on.
9 posted on 01/23/2007 9:05:24 AM PST by RetiredArmy (Marxis-Dimocrats stand for everything I hate and wish to see destroyed, including them!)
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To: weegee
Guero should be outlawed too!
10 posted on 01/23/2007 9:05:32 AM PST by ßuddaßudd (7 days - 7 ways Guero >>> with a floating, shifting, ever changing persona....)
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To: RetiredArmy
Mayor wants Brazoria to outlaw the 'n-word'- says town should fine 'offensive' uses of racial slur

Do I just get a ticket if I think it?

11 posted on 01/23/2007 9:06:09 AM PST by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: EagleUSA

Wait until the PC police add sodomite to their hate speech code.

Thoughtcriminals will be prosecuted, illegal invaders will not.


12 posted on 01/23/2007 9:06:31 AM PST by weegee (No third term. Hillary Clinton's 2008 election run presents a Constitutional Crisis.)
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To: Puppage

and how do they know if you were using it as a slur?


13 posted on 01/23/2007 9:07:00 AM PST by RetiredArmy (Marxis-Dimocrats stand for everything I hate and wish to see destroyed, including them!)
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To: RetiredArmy

LOL! The RIAA will have to get it's SWAT teams policing it's own labels.


14 posted on 01/23/2007 9:07:57 AM PST by zarf
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To: weegee

Paging Donna Shalala...


15 posted on 01/23/2007 9:08:05 AM PST by GSWarrior
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To: weegee

Threads like this make me snigger.


16 posted on 01/23/2007 9:08:21 AM PST by D.P.Roberts
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To: weegee

Do these people not realize that we have a First Amendment?


17 posted on 01/23/2007 9:08:37 AM PST by MBB1984
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To: weegee

Good idea if we also include the "F" word and about a dozen other "letter" words in the ban.


18 posted on 01/23/2007 9:09:07 AM PST by sonofagun
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To: weegee
But at least one legal expert said Monday that such an ordinance may not stand up in court.

May? May!?! There's no way in hell something like this would stand up in court.

19 posted on 01/23/2007 9:10:03 AM PST by The Blitherer (I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. -Reagan)
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To: EagleUSA

Shut up, CRACKER!


20 posted on 01/23/2007 9:11:23 AM PST by RobRoy (Islam is a greater threat to the world today than Nazism was in 1938.)
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