While I personally like the idea of sending in the authorities anytime one of you pesky profanity-using denizens of the comment section “annoy” me, I suppose the argument could be made that I might be accused of the same (potentially) illegal behavior under HB 2549, which looks to make the use of “any obscene, lewd or profane language” with the “intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend” unlawful. Thankfully, I don’t swear all that often, so I might be in the clear.
Now, what possible unintended consequences could a bill with that sort of language create? Let’s see what UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh (and person who actually understands the internet) has to say:
So, under the statute, posting a comment to a newspaper article — or a blog — saying that the article or post author is “fucking out of line” would be a crime: It’s said with intent to offend, it uses an electronic or digital device, and it uses what likely will be seen as profane language (see, e.g., City of Columbia Falls v. Bennett (Mont. 1991)). Likewise if a blog poster were to post the same in response to a commenter’s comment. Likewise if someone posts something in response to an e-mail on an e-mail-based discussion list, or in a chatroom, or wherever else. (Note that if “profane” is read to mean not vulgarly insulting, but instead religiously offensive, see City of Bellevue v. Lorang (Wash. 2000), then the statute would be unconstitutional as well.)
The same would be true if someone posts something lewd in one of these places in order to annoy or offend someone, for instance if he posts a comment on a police-run public discussion page that says something like “the chief of police can suck my dick,” to borrow subject matter from a prior Arizona telephone harassment case. And note that, given that case, the speech need not even be about one of the recipients, so long as it’s intended to annoy or offend one of the recipients.
Yes, this bill seems to be an attempt to modernize laws defining “disturbing the peace” for the online age, but the language is so incredibly vague, I don’t think I personally would trust the best intentions of law enforcement in this state to enforce this sort of law sanely. Just think of the field day Joe Arpaio could have with the blogs at the Phoenix New Times or what Tom Horne might think of the comment section over at Three Sonorans.
Thanks, Arizona Legislature, for giving our state another set of expensive court battles to look forward to.
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2012.
Fuck that.
Probably unconstitutional also.
more of our tax dollars being wasted by these morons… oops, might get arrested for my comment
Law: A word for someone else’s opinion.
Statism makes every man a slave.
What of bunch of Panty waste ! If this is the type of issues,arizona reps,are concerned about. How PATHETIC and DUMB !
I guess you’ll be turning me in now Danny boy for being a racist neo-con….but wait before they close the cell door I can tell a few more assholes off…..
Dan Gibson writes:
“Thanks, Arizona Legislature, for giving our state another set of expensive court battles to look forward to.”
That is true. It is enough to make one think trial lawyers and AZ Republicans are in bed together, doing unimaginably nasty things to each other with tongues and rectums.
To Arizona Legislators – YOU FUCKING SUCK!!
This is really a stupid proposal….how idiotic! It reminds me of HR 347 recently voted for by a majority of both parties and signed by Obama…if your are protesting in a “secret service area”, aka – where Agents are present, you can now be arrested, by them and charged with a felony for protesting. I could not believe it until I read it myself… Is our Secret Service now this administrations SS squad? Where is the ACLU on this action? Talk about an erosion of our civil liberties…our elected officials are now “isolating” themselves from the citizenry of this country?
Another distraction from the lack of jobs in AZ, and no credible or viable legislation on behalf of that. These Repukes continue to target social issues–almost like an American Taliban. There is such a total disregard in the interests of their constituents it’s disgusting. Now, that they want to install all those private prisons to make themselves and their cronies wealthier, I guess they’re just going to make more stupid laws to fill those prisons. Don’t be surprised when they introduce legislation for a Debtor’s Prison. We must fight them now with phone calls and mail–tell them to stop funding the wealthiest Arizonans and concentrate on the majority of their constituents best interests.