Nearly 100 people gathered in the pouring rain on the Middleborough town lawn today to protest a town ordinance that would make swearing in public punishable by a $20 fine.
The organizer of the rally, Adam Kokesh, 30, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the ordinance is an example of “pathological bullying behavior” by the government. He was joined by residents and protesters from other states.
Comments
Swearing: verbal air pollution.
It's great to see 100 people rally against these silly, needless laws. Most towns in Massachusetts have passed over 100 pages of regulations and prohibitions since the 1970's, with very few local regulations existing for hundreds of years beforehand. For instance, drinking in public laws do not exist in Europe. Here's a good question - do the 100 pages of penalties and regulations help to boost the American economy versus the EU? In my town, restaurants and bars have to run a multi-year city council gauntlet just to add a few outdoor dining tables. Don't the vast thousands of pages of state regs already cover most every type of criminal offense? In 2009 there were large protests in several towns when local governments passed laws negating much of the marijuana decriminalization referendum, which passed by 30 points. Some of the protests had 150 people, yet the Globe ignored the entire movement. Here again the Middleborough local govt. defies the direct vote of the local population in 2008's Question 2 decrim vote. We voted overwhelming to reduce the fine for marijuana possession from $500 to $100, but many local politicians, like these guys, feel the need to countermand the will of the voters.