Posted on 12/27/2010 8:51:10 AM PST by FromLori
MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee man said he thinks it's pretty darn ridiculous that he got fined $500 for swearing on a county bus.
Terry Duncan said that he considers it un-American to get slapped with a $500 disorderly conduct fine for saying two words. The words in questions started with the letters "f" and "s." After Duncan uttered them last Tuesday, an undercover deputy ordered him off the vehicle and handed him the ticket.
Duncan said he's new to Milwaukee, didn't know about the law and pointed out it's not posted anywhere in the bus. He said he simply cursed during a conversation and that the words weren't directed at a specific person. He said he'll fight the ticket in court.
A spokeswoman for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said he's warned the public about his zero-tolerance approach to disorderly conduct on buses. She said he considers it a quality-of-life issue.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
*&%&^$&^O!!!
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this fine except it is excessive.
If it isn’t posted anywhere on the bus—how would a tourist know?
If there is no stop sign- how can you give me a ticket for not stopping?
This needs to be clarified.
He might win in court.
I see it as a free speech issue myself the more we are willing to give up the more they take away it’s a slippery slope and while I might find it personally offensive I would rather hear a few bad words then lose my rights to say them.
There are quite a few politicians I wouldn’t mind telling where to go.
If your on public transportation then yes, why not? This is similar to Mayor Giuliani’s NYC approach ...zero tolerance to small things. All Of a sudden big things are reduced too because now the uncivilized fear the law like righteous people fear God.
Yet another reason to never, ever take public transportation unless absolutely necessary.
Yup! He'll plead "ignorance of the law"!
He’d be calling for an “amber lamps” if I had heard him talking like that in front of either ladies or children.
When I was growing up we didn't have the right to say them in public.
I believe the "free love/peace/drug" movements of the 60's earned that right for us.
/johnny
And if he had used the words copulate and dung,would it make a difference?
The Taliban morality police have nothing on Milwaukee. Equip them with whips.
>I see it as a free speech issue
I would agree if there was some way it reasonably be interpreted that the passenger was making a political statement. Civility is as important too. Things like this remind me of why I am not a libertarian which I am in most things.
I agree 100%-plus. As one who takes trains and the metro, I am sick and tired of having to endure foul-mouth punks (and adults) who don’t have the decency to curb their animal instincts while in public.
this is going to snowball into some huge, gigantic ACLU First Amendment case that will go all the way to SCOTUS and ultimately result in naked couples making whoopee and cursing like sailors on daytime broadcast television...
I hope you obligingly take your lumps and pay your fine when it becomes a crime to demean Lord Obama in front of women and children.
Got Taliban?
The original deputy on Dukes of Hazzard said “Ignorance of the law is no excust. At least it’s never worked for me.
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