BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is recommending
that the town of Middleborough change or repeal a bylaw that prohibits public
profanity.
The town approved a proposal this summer that would allow police to enforce
the 1968 ban by imposing a $20 fine on people who engage in loud swearing in
public.
The proposal came in response to concerns by local merchants about
profanity-laden language used by teenagers and other young people in the
downtown area and public parks.
But Coakley said Tuesday the original bylaw appears to violate First
Amendment free speech guarantees, and she called on Middleborough to take it
off the books or amend it.
