On Tuesday afternoon, the Massachusetts state legislature considered banning the word “bitch.”
Yes, seriously.
The state legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary considered the bill, which was introduced a few months ago by state Rep. Dan Hunt, a Democrat. The bill says that “a person who uses the word ‘bitch’ directed at another person to accost, annoy, degrade or demean the other person shall be considered to be a disorderly person.” According to Boston.com, the penalties “provide for a fine of not more than either $150 or $200, or jail time of up to six months.” As for a reporting mechanism, either the offended party or a third-party witness can report offenders to the police.
This is, frankly, insane. Hunt’s wild censorious ambitions should of course not be ascribed to all Democrats, but there is little doubt that liberals across the country, especially on college campuses, are increasingly warming up to the idea of suppressing subjectively “offensive” speech. This is simply that logic taken to its logical, albeit extreme, conclusion.
Of course the word “bitch” is offensive when used in a nasty way, but guess what: Americans have the right to be offensive, rude, and even downright nasty. We can have a robust debate over the proper role of government, but there’s absolutely no justification for attempts to have the state police niceties and everyday conversation.
Is this really the best use of time, anyway? I lived in Massachusetts until very recently, and as a resident I would have been amiss to see my tax dollars used to fund $62,000 salaries for our legislators to hold ridiculous hearings over frivolous nonsense. Plus, their disdain for the Constitution is nothing short of appalling.
Do you believe free speech matters? Tired of @massdems dictating what you can say?
Judiciary Committee will be taking this up tomorrow at 1 pm.
Come on down to the State House. Rooms A1&A2. First floor. Let ’em have it. #mapoli https://t.co/afowov3IFg
— MassGOP (@massgop) October 22, 2019
First Amendment Lawyer Ari Cohn made the wry observation that Hunt is in fact a graduate of Suffolk Law School, a Boston-area law school of some local renown. Evidently, he didn’t learn much.
Hello, @RepDanHunt, if you didn’t learn that a law banning a certain word when used to “demean” a person will not survive #FirstAmendment scrutiny at @Suffolk_Law, I recommend you ask for your money back, or Suffolk ask for their degree back. #FreeSpeechhttps://t.co/nwNfWwF6Fu pic.twitter.com/an3MuonZLC
— Ari Cohn (@AriCohn) October 22, 2019
I caught up with Cohn, who was previously the director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and he offered a bleak legal analysis of the proposed bill:
Cohn hits the nail on the head, as usual. Attempts to censor “hate speech” or “offensive” words are all but certain to backfire. Once that happens, well, Hunt might just realize … life’s a bitch
