Obscene language law outdated?

 

There is a call for section 9 (c) of the 1843 Towns and Communities Act which prohibits the use of profane, indecent, or obscene language in public spaces to be removed. 

 

It follows the use of an expletive by opposition leader Mark Golding after experiencing microphone issues during a People's National Party meeting in South Western St. Ann on Friday.

 

Mr Golding later apologised for the comment.

 

Dr Michael Abrahams, Gleaner Columnist and Social Commentator, speaking Monday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines, while noting that elected representatives should be mindful of the language they use in public, asserted his belief that the nearly two centuries old act is too difficult to enforce in 2025.

 

Determining what is a "bad word" is "really subjective," he argued, asking who decides what is indeed a bad word.

 

Regarding a sub-set of so-called Jamaican bad words, the "fabric words," according to Dr Abrahams, is quite peculiar: "I don't think there's any other country where you get in trouble for using those words."

 

Danielle Archer, Principal Director of National Integrity Action, also responding on Beyond the Headlines, said there needs to be a mechanism that holds parliamentarians accountable for unbecoming conduct.

 

"It solidifies for me that we do need to have some kind of codified framework," she said, stressing that "it can be something that is left up to the moral suasion of any political party, because if they all knew that there was this particular codified framework that had sanctions and fines, they would have the kind of support that says 'Whenever we say or do anything, regardless we are, there is a particular standard to be expected.'"

 

Just last month JLP MP Everald Warmington came under fire after using indecent language, during a party meeting in Westmoreland. 

 

Mr Warmington subsequently apologised for his utterances.