South Carolina Wants to Ban Profanity

First amendment rights can all just f--- off! Or at least, that's what one South Carolina senator thinks. State Senator Robert Ford has recently filed a bill to outlaw profanity statewide.

If you do say or write a profane word, the act could be punishable by five years in jail or a $5,000 fine.

View the Bill Via WeirdStuffNews

If you enjoyed this, you may also like how the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi is trying to ban saggy pants.

You've got to be kidding me, a FELONY? Isn't that a little over the top?
What is I trip and fall, therefore hurting myself?
Profanity just flows uncontrollably out of my mouth.

What do you guys think?
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I agree that it shouldn't be illegal, but I wish people in general would clean up their language. I'm on a college campus nearly every day, and it's sad how many f-bombs I hear in the five minute walk to and from my car. I just think it sounds . . . disgusting. There are so many words to choose from in the English language, why don't people use them? I'm only 30, and my politics lean pretty far to the left. I wouldn't say I'm even a little conservative,. . . I just wish people could find something more worthwhile to say. What do you guys think?
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It's backwards thinking to try and make the "language" what it used to be. There are like a jillion definitions of the F word, and the S word is just as popular. It's casual language shorthand. Shit means stuff, or drama, or a car, as in piece of shit car, by adam sandler. Don't worry, you'll leave college and join the real world soon enough.
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"You are fined one credit for a violation of the Verbal Morality Statute."
come on... of all the possible future scenarios, Demolition Man was right? AND it was cheaper there?
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This is officially the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm not saying that there isn't a time and place for profanity, and quite frankly, I think that it can be used colorfully and eloquently. But, there is a time and place for it. However a person feels about it, though, last I heard people had a right to free speech in America.

I can't believe that anyone would waste their time with even thinking something like this up.
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I don't know about a felony, but here in Michigan, it's illegal to use expletives in public. It's rarely enforced, but it has been enforced lately. To me it's like having a law against being stupid.
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People just have no originality any more.
I wonder if they made up a list of profane words, and if they could be incarcerated for listing them. How would they refer to these words in the trials, without actually saying them?
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Already on top of that.

Send Senator Ford a letter. I did:
http://sparkbox.blogspot.com/2009/01/lick-my-stinking-asshole-sc-senator.html
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While I don't think it should be Illegal in Jackson, Mississippi to wear low-slung pants, i DO think that if someone pulls your baggy pants down, you should be forced to stand there and be ridiculed for at least 10 minutes (every time someone yanks your saggy britches down)!
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to johnnycat ~ i've been in the real world, thanks, and i'll stay where I am. I waited to go to college until I had worked for 12 years, and the real world sucks. ~ and to bradbury ~ my politics are about as far to the left as it gets. I just have an appreciation for language. One can be liberal AND have manners : )

I challenge you to go a single day without using expletives, just as a challenge to yourself.
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He's introduced this every session since he was elected. It's never heard from again, every year. This isn't news, just some dumbass journalist having a slow day.
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While it's a noble endeavor, it's unconstitutional AND unenforcable. It's a nice idea, though, and if it were valid and enforcable, it'd generate a lot of revenue!!
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Lawyer checking in. There's no sense getting anyone's panties in a twist over this. Even if the state legislature somehow enacted this flagrantly unconstitutional law, the courts would immediately strike it down as soon as the state tried to enforce it.
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But of course, Mr/Ms Attorney, sir/ma'am.

But he needs to be sent the message that he's an idiot for even thinking he might float that sort of crap past the legislature, and that people everywhere are paying attention to that sh¡t.
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Why is it hard to believe that Democrats are behind pushes for morality laws when they were the driving force behind the PMRC and video game rating systems?

If you love free speech and hate we "rethuglicans" vote Libertarian or smile and eat your shit sandwich.
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I say it's so cool that in South Carolina the mighty politics have rid the place of theft, poverty, crappy education, inaccessible healthcare and other ailments so they can focus on the real problems that are left to solve.

If a word offends you, it's your own problem with the word, not the person who said it. When a word loses its shock value, it won't be used as a curse word anymore. So the more you care about the issue, the less likely it is to go away.

Monkey trumpets!
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Seriously? Seriously we don't have enough people in jail and police don't have enough to do? They should be chasing people who swear rather than the people committing actual crimes? And the taxpayers are going to pay to keep someone in jail for swearing? That is ridiculous. So glad to be a Yankee.
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So I think that I should send the senator that picture of me screaming a swear word in front of that no swear sign in myrtle beach.Then suggest that no one should eat a whopper or pork because it offends a small portion of the population and yes I know there will be people responding to this saying swearing offends alot of people. Then I suggest they watch NBC, FOX, MTV, or videos of president bush and then say that to me again.Welcome to the 21 century...
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As a former resident of South Carolina and member of Mr. Ford's District, I am not surprised. Too bad wasting the taxpayers dollar on frivolous legislation isn't a felony.
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The USA is a very ignorant country, its getting worse by the day. Locks up more people than any other country in the world. Its no wonder its broke and may well have to claim bankruptcy. It does resemble Germany of the 1930s- I hope Obama can change it.
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