We Need A Mudflap Amendment In The Constitution

One of the unfortunate perks of being elected to public office is the power to bring your little pet peeves before the legislative process.

PHOENIX -- It's still going to be legal in Arizona for trucks to have splash guards with racist terms and silhouettes of naked women.

The state House on Thursday rejected a Democratic amendment that would have banned splash guards with images that are "obscene or hateful."

Tempe Democrat Ed Ableser sponsored the amendment. He said he'd seen a splash guard that used a derogatory term for black children and said he wanted to make sure that people with hateful motives didn't inflict them on others.

Democratic Rep. Theresa Ulmer of Yuma supported the amendment and said it fit with lawmakers' other efforts to crack down on pornography and sexual predators.

Flash to Arizona Dems: See, this is the trouble with freedom. People use it.

Having bad taste and making a public ass of yourself are protected under the Constitution. An exaggerated silhouette of a woman is not obscene, it's just unrealistic. Racist speech is still protected speech.

You cannot protect kids from rudeness. And you probably shouldn't, unless you want them to grow up to be fragile milquetoasts.

No one, not even 'the children,' are harmed by these images. Kids are far more durable than that. Get over yourself.

If these folks have nothing better to do all day than take on the deadly threat of tacky mudflaps, maybe they should leave public office and let somebody with an understanding of the U.S. Constitution and a sense of priorities take their seats.

posted by Laura. at 10:35 PM

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