The Daily Populous Saturday August 2nd, 2025 evening edition
Authored by laist.com and submitted by RhythmMethodMan

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The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to ban use of the N-word and the C-word during meetings in response to a recent increase in abusive or offensive language from a handful of people who regularly address the council.

The rule: Under the ordinance, people who repeatedly use the words will be subject to removal from council chambers or committee meetings and possibly banned from future meetings.

The backstory: City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is Black, said since the first election of President Donald Trump in 2016, public comment by a few people has devolved into “rank, cantankerous, and rude and demeaning and insulting” language. He said use of vulgar language has put a chill on civic participation because people don’t want to come to meetings.

Listen • 0:40 Los Angeles City Council bans use of N-word, C-word in meetings

“We believe these words add no additional value to any statement that any petitioner might make to the council and that they are always and universally designed to demean individuals,” said Harris-Dawson, who authored the proposal.

First Amendment concerns: Past efforts to curb offensive behavior have failed. The city was forced to settle a lawsuit filed by a Black man who was thrown out of a meeting for wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and a T-shirt with the N-word on it. Harris-Dawson said he believes the new rule on speech will hold up in court because it's limited in scope and the consequences are clearly articulated.

What's next: One man who is a regular speaker at City Council meetings used the N-word Wednesday as he promised to file a First Amendment lawsuit against the city challenging the new rule.

powercow on August 2nd, 2025 at 16:12 UTC »

Sounds like right wingers are trying to scare people off from public meetings. Yeah LA is mostly left, but people who look at the 1st and say "I can be a total asshole if i want" tend to all be right wingers.

InvisibleEar on August 2nd, 2025 at 16:10 UTC »

My local council meetings have also had slur problems, it's crazy out there

mtranda on August 2nd, 2025 at 14:22 UTC »

C-word? Cunt?