The crackdown on bad language would seem unconstitutional on its face under the first amendment. This is the second such arrest in eight months — citing them for disorderly conduct.
Texas makes it a crime to use abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language in a public place, which causes an “immediate breach of peace,” meets the definition of disorderly conduct.
Urquizo was overheard by a Galveston police officer telling his girlfriend “I can’t believe you’re so (expletive deleted) stupid” and “what the (expletive deleted) were you thinking.” He clearly misunderstood that such phrases in New York can be actual terms of endearment.
Texas, however, has its own homegrown vulgarians. Kristi Fridge, 28, was upset when she went to a store and found the battery shelf empty — letting out a exasperated comment to her mother that “They’re all (expletive deleted) gone!” Nearby was Capt. Alfred Decker, an assistant fire marshal and “certified peace officer,” who told her that “You need to watch your mouth.” When she told him that it was a private conversation, he promptly issue her a ticket for disorderly conduct.
The “F-word” was also a matter of contention among the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit this week. A strongly worded dissent objects to the court decision against a worker who called a supervisor a “stupid f—ing moron.” For the majority and dissenting opinions in Media General Operations v. NLRB, click 081153p
The South Dakota Supreme Court recently upheld the right to be profane.
For the full story out of Texas, click here.