Residents of Middle-borough, a small town near Boston, voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a penalty of USD 20 on anybody who will be found guilty swearing in public. Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to creak down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks.
The measure could raise questions about constitutional free speech rights, but state law does allow towns to enforce local laws that give police the power to arrest anyone who "addresses another person with profane or obscene language" in public place. Middle-borough, a town of about 20,00 residents, has had a bylaw against public profanity since 1968.
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