BRIGHTON -- Ticking someone off could get you a ticket in one Michigan city. The Brighton City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance allowing police in the Livingston County community to ticket and fine anyone who is annoying in public "by word of mouth, sign or motions.".... The measure is modeled on a similar ordinance in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. A city attorney says there could be situations where the measure would violate freedom of speech, but that those cases will be reviewed by the city. The ban takes effect Jan. 2.
Well, it looks like I'm not going to be going to Brighton, MI, any time soon. Not if I plan on staying on the good side of the law. Yes, the nanny state has officially come to small-town Michigan, as the insightful leaders of Brighton have managed to outlaw one of my few marketable skills- being annoying in public. Of course, I can still manage to be annoying in private, but it's so much more enjoyable grating on people in public.
All kidding aside, did anyone actually think this one through? How, exactly, is "annoying" to be defined? And who gets to be the ultimate arbiter of whether someone is being truly "annoying" or merely "an @$$hole"? Gentleman, start your lawyers, because this one is going to end up with Brighton spending a lot of taxpayer money on billable hours as they defend themselves from numerous lawsuits. This being Michigan we're talking about, you just know that Brighton is awash in tax money to defend themselves from "unjust", "frivolous", and yes, even "annoying" lawsuits, right?
Beware the power of stupid people in large groups...particularly when they have something resembling legislative authority.
