# Swear words on shirts



## joeshaul

Hallo! 
A friend wants me to create a shirt with the F word on it. I believe it is legal, but not very ethical, however figured I'd check. Don't know if I should really print it for him anyways, since it's kind of a bad reflection on my business in my opinion, but it is a friend, so maybe I'll just tell him "Say you got it at Walmart on clearance".


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## SketchBox

I would never put anything on a shirt that I wouldnt wear in front of a 8 year old child. Thats just me though I would feel like crap if a little kid pulled on his mothers arm as I walked by and asked her what F*** ment. Its really up to you, but whoever wears the shirt is bound to peeve off ALOT of parents if he wears it in public.


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## joeshaul

I don't think he's planning on wearing it in public, more around the house. He has a small collection of offensive shirts, usually ones he wears when watching football (avid Packers fan, quite tipsy and very vocal when they play, also has special "good luck" gear for game-day). The one I'm making for him doesn't seem to be football related, but I've seen him at home with a variety of different F this and F that shirts, so he has to get em from somewhere.


P.S. 
As a kid, I used to wear all kinds of grotesque shirts, had quite an Iron Maiden collection, they always had some nice gory T-shirts. The closest thing I had to a swear shirt was one of the Metallica shirts that had "Metal up your A**" with a hand and dagger sticking out of the toilet (the word was actually spelled out), that was the only one though.


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## GHEENEE1

Some states make it illegal to wear curse words in public. Fl. is one of those states. I know your freind isn't going to wear the shirt in public. I agree 100% with Sketchbox.
Mike


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## hammered

If he requested it, why not. Its freedom of expression. Its up to the wearer to regulate its use. And quite frankly, its criminal in my opinion to outlaw words. The US is way too uptight. I say if hes willing to pay for time and material, do it.


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## TripleT

GHEENEE1 said:


> Some states make it illegal to wear curse words in public. Fl. is one of those states. I know your freind isn't going to wear the shirt in public. I agree 100% with Sketchbox.
> Mike


 
I didn't know that about Florida. But I agree with you and Sketchbox - I wouldn't do it.


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## prometheus

Here is what I found on wikipedia: Illegal T-shirt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't know if it is Florida specific, but I remember when I lived there (8 years ago), that it was illegal to have offensive bumper stickers. That had started with the infamous "how's my driving" bumper sticker.


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## Gunslinger

Joe, unless what you are printing offends you personally, your friend is simply your client and you are simply providing a service for him. You don't need to "add" the work to your portfolio, I wouldn't add it to mine (depending on the rules of my current host). But, I would still take the job (unless there is something else about the design that I might have a problem with ... lol, which isn't much).


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## SeasonEnds

I agree with the above comment. If it offends you, or you are worried about your business, just don't print it. If you are undecided, but don't really care... just print it. Good luck.


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## pokerman

Legal or not, you've kind of answered you own question. If you're concerned about it enough to ask others, you have a question in your own mind. My rule is if in doubt, don't; I'll never regret it later.
Want to see the F word in public? Come to California and walk Venice Beach boardwalk any Sat. or Sun. you'll get your fill.


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## etctees

The worst that will happen by printing dirty words on a shirt is some old bitty approaching you with a stern look and saying something about "back in my day...".

I've sold a range of shirts that include a few naughty ones for over a year now, mostly at markets and shopping centre stalls. I've had women approach me quite angry that my shirt has the "f" word on it, even though it's not in an offensive manner. (The shirt says "Vegetarian. I don't eat meat. It's that f'ing simple"). When I had my mother looking after one of my stalls once, a woman came up and smacked her on the head with a magazine and said "you're disgusting". It's just life, you know? I have a shirt that offended someone once because their dad died of cancer, just because my shirt has the word cancer on it. Did it say "Ha ha, your dad died of cancer!"? No. Just like my shirt with the f-word on it didn't say "f*** you". Some people are just looking to be angry at the world for any reason.

So go ahead, print it


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## pokerman

Hey etctees...boy are you right. Some folks are just angry at the world looking for someone to take it out on and justify their anger in their mind.


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## AustinJeff

SeasonEnds said:


> I would like to see a law and cases where it successfully bans anyone from wearing an offensive t-shirt in the public. This seems unconstitutional to me.


You're not going to find much, at least in the US. It is clearly unconstitutional, as determined in _Cohen v. California_. The Wikipedia link above has links to the case.

If Florida does have such a law, it was likely passed pre-1971 when _Cohen_ was decided. In any case, it may be on the books, but I would be shocked if it's being enforced since it would clearly be unconstitutional. (It is possible that there could be restrictions, as mentioned, on bumper stickers. It could be argued that it would be distracting and a safety hazzard.)

Anyway, even though it is legal, that doesn't mean you have to print it. If you don't feel comfortable, don't do it.


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## GHEENEE1

This is where I determined my illegality of foul t- shirts. I used search Florida statutes under obscenity.
Mike


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## AustinJeff

Looking at the statute you cited, you can see that in the first section it says, "The term "obscene" shall have the same meaning as set forth in s. 847.001. "

OK, check out 847.001. It uses the definition of obscenity from the _Cohen_ case, which includes "(b) Depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct as specifically defined herein; and..."

Clearly, simply wearing a curse word does not fit the bill. And this is not speculation on my part. This is exactly what this case was about. A guy wore a jacket with "the F word" into a _court room_. The Supremes said this was protected speech.


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## pokerman

Don't rely on all these posts. Even if one of these is an attorney, at least one attorney in every "duel" is incorrect because they don't win upon venturing into a courtroom and assuring their client they are in the right. WRONG!

Buyer beware? Producer beware! There's a snake laying out there just waiting to strike and one only need a clever parasitic attorney to forge new ground.


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## GHEENEE1

I look at as anything that is considered obscene, cannot be shown to a minor. You can't guarantee a minor will not see your shirt. Btw, I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on the forums. HA HA!


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## Titchimp

I know you guys are talking US law but over here (uk) a guy was charged for wearing a tshirt: 

BLABBERMOUTH.NET - CRADLE OF FILTH T-Shirt Lands British Man In Court

(the link has what was on the tshirt)


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## Larip

hammered said:


> If he requested it, why not. Its freedom of expression. Its up to the wearer to regulate its use. And quite frankly, its criminal in my opinion to outlaw words. The US is way too uptight. I say if hes willing to pay for time and material, do it.


I would have to agree with Hammered. Its up to you, though.


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## AustinJeff

pokerman said:


> Ah yes. All attorney wannabees we are. Don't rely on all these posts.


I'm not an attorney, but I _can_ read. And I do operate a site that specializes in shirts that people have been arrested for wearing. So I've done quite a bit of research on this.

But indeed you should not take anything I say as legal advice. But you don't need to. Simply read it for yourself. The law is pretty clear.



"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." - Bob Dylan


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## Buechee

I would do the shirt. Your job is to produce the shirt the customer wants, not to judge his/her morals.


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## AustinJeff

GHEENEE1 said:


> I look at as anything that is considered obscene, cannot be shown to a minor. You can't guarantee a minor will not see your shirt.


Yes, but legally there is a difference between offensive and obscene. It might be offensive to wear a T-shirt with "the F word", especially around minors, but it is not obscene (as defined in the statute linked above and in the _Cohen_ case) and is therefore not illegal.


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## MotoskinGraphix

Whether legal or not expect to be hasseled by someone if you wear offensive gear. Offensive is the key word because whats offensive to some isnt for others. Political correctness has run me down lately and there are times when you just want to say whats on your mind. I do think the F word is a bit over used and a perfect example is trying to play x-box live and listening to six year olds into the teens Fing this and that.


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