GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

Latest Cape Ann News

June 25, 2012

Opponents, supporters rally on swearing code

MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Several dozen people have held a profanity laced rally to protest a Massachusetts town's bylaw allowing police to hand out $20 tickets for public swearing.

Some people shouted curse words while others carried profane posters supporting free speech at Monday's rally in the rain on the Middleborough Town Hall lawn. People who support the bylaw also showed up.

The protest rally was organized by Adam Kokesh, a libertarian who publishes podcasts online from a Virginia studio. He says police can "steal from you if they don't like what's coming out of your mouth."

But police won't be issuing any tickets until the state attorney general determines if the bylaw making public cursing a civil offense is constitutional. The bylaw was passed overwhelmingly two weeks ago at a town meeting.

Public swearing was a crime under a seldom-enforced 1968 bylaw.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Latest Cape Ann News

Pictures of the Week
Your news, your way
Comments Tracker
AP Video Network
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office New Xbox One Entertainment Console Unveiled