Swear in Public? That'll Cost You $20, Payable to the State

Chris | InformationLiberation
Jun. 12, 2012

Anyone who thinks democracy is a proper system of government need look no further.

Citizens in the Massachusets town of Middleborough voted to impose a $20 fine on their fellow subjects for committing the newly created "crime" of swearing.

Via AP:

MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Residents in Middleborough voted Monday night to make the foul-mouthed pay fines for swearing in public.

At a town meeting, residents voted 183-50 to approve a proposal from the police chief to impose a $20 fine on public profanity.

Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks.

"I'm really happy about it," Mimi Duphily, a store owner and former town selectwoman, said after the vote. "I'm sure there's going to be some fallout, but I think what we did was necessary."

Statist logic: To swear in public is horrible and profane, to impose a tax on someone for swearing in public and threaten to jail them for not paying said tax is A-OK.

UPDATE: Adam Kokesh is organizing a "Free F**KING Speech Demonstration In Middleborough, MA!" Check it out on Facebook!