Slashdot Mirror
ACLU Sues To Protect Your Right To Swear
The ACLU is suing the police in Pennsylvania for issuing tickets to people who swear. They argue that it is every American's constitutional right to drop an F-bomb. From the article: "'Unfortunately, many police departments in the commonwealth do not seem to be getting the message that swearing is not a crime,' said Marieke Tuthill of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. 'The courts have repeatedly found that profanity, unlike obscenity, is protected speech.'" This is a big f*cking deal.
An American rights group is suing the police in Pennsylvania for issuing tickets, which carry a jail sentence, to people for swearing.
...
One lawsuit involves an unidentified woman in Luzerne County in northeast Pennsylvania who was given a citation which carries a maximum penalty of $300 and 90 days in jail after she yelled an offensive word at a motorcyclist who swerved close to her in October 2008.
I think I speak for most people when I say: Fuck that.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
anal sex to preserve virginity dates back thousands of years before the USA was founded, and it's not illegal to curse in public or on TV in the US. Otherwise, you're post was dead on accurate.
If Penn wants people to be 'polite' and not use profanity in public places, thats perfectly acceptable, IF they vote it into law. If its not a law then thats it, game over ... majority rules, if a community doesn't want people swearing in public then you deal with it.
Okay, time for a quick high-school civics refresher. The basis of law in the United States all derives from the U.S. constitution. While the 10th amendment to that constitution does grant the states and the people a lot of latitude, it explicitly places the protections of the rest of the constitution as superior to any laws that might be passed by the states (or any lower level). That's why the Supreme Court can and frequently does strike down statutes and ordinances that they find to be in conflict with the Constitution.
In other words, if Pennsylvania wants to pass "community standards" laws that constrain speech in this way, they really only have two choices: (1) somehow get an amendment to US Constitution that curtails the 1st amendment; or (2) secede. From a practical perspective, #1 won't happen, and #2 would probably be met with armed resistance.
Fortunately the ACLU defends your right to distribute religious material.
February 21, 2003: The American Civil Liberties Union came to the defense of students in a Massachusetts high school who were suspended for distributing candy canes with Christian messages on them. The ACLU argued that their suspension violated the students’ freedom of speech.
July 11, 2002: ACLU defends the right of Iowa public school students to distribute Christian literature during non-instructional hours of school.
So... thank God for the ACLU standing up for our right to practice religious freedom and expression and keeping Government forced religion out of our lives.
...and thank them for standing up for our fucking right to free expression.