Thanks to a new Florida law that goes into effect on July 1st, playing your music too loud in a car is now illegal across the state.
Noise that is plainly audible 25 feet or more from the vehicle OR noise deemed louder than necessary for the convenient hearing of the occupants of the vehicle can get you a ticket.
Of course there were reactions on Twitter.
The part that I find interesting (which hasn't been covered in any of the media articles I have read about the law) is that a nearly identical law (it even has the same identifier) was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2012.
The reason for the lawsuit against the original law was that the language was too vague to be constitutional. The original law just said all noise that was "clearly audible" outsided the vehicle was illegal. The legislature has solved that issue in the new version by adding "clearly audible at 25 feet or more."
However, Florida's Supreme Court ruling did not address the vagueness issue at all; it addressed the inclusion of a provision of the law that allows commercial and political vehicles an exception to amplify sound, which is still in the new version. The court ruled that the law was constitutionally overbroad in terms of the First Amendment.
Here's their reasoning if you're interested in that sort of thing:
"Accordingly, we find that the statute is an unreasonable restriction on First Amendment rights. Likewise, the restriction of the constitutionally protected right to amplify sound, despite the State's acknowledgement that this level of noise is tolerable and safe if the source is a commercial or political vehicle, is not narrowly tailored to achieve the government's interests in improving traffic safety and protecting the citizenry from excessive noise. Thus, we also find that the statute is unconstitutionally overbroad because it restricts the freedom of expression in a manner more intrusive than necessary."
This seems like an easy win if you're one of those people who like to mess with the government. If I lived in Florida, I'd throw on some Babatunde Akinboboye and blast it.
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