Watch your mouth!<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles<\/a> City Council voted Wednesday to ban the use<\/a> of the N-word and C-word at public meetings \u2014 triggering free speech backlash and the threat of a $400 million lawsuit.<\/p>\n The controversial vote by the body allows council leadership to issue a warning for any use or variation of the slurs. Repeat offenders can be booted from the chamber and barred from future sessions.<\/p>\n Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is black and introduced the measure, said the use of slurs during public comments has made residents hesitant to attend meetings.<\/p>\n The council chamber where a 14\u20130 vote Wednesday banned use of the N-word and C-word during meetings, citing years of disruptive outbursts. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt is language that, anywhere outside this building where there aren\u2019t four armed guards, would get you hurt if you said these things in public,\u201d Harris-Dawson told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year. <\/a><\/p>\n He added that public comment has become \u201crank, cantankerous, and rude and demeaning and insulting\u201d since Donald Trump\u2019s election in 2016, according to the LAist<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Wednesday ban is already drawing legal threats.<\/p>\n Wayne Spindler, an attorney and longtime City Hall commenter, said Wednesday he intends to sue.<\/p>\n Critics of the new rule, including frequent City Hall speakers, claimed the city was infringing on free speech and promised legal challenges. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to file my $400-million lawsuit that I already have prepared and ready to file,\u201d Spindler said during public comment, adding he plans to read explicit Tupac Shakur lyrics until he\u2019s banned from a meeting.<\/p>\n