# Offensive band names OK **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406 "2017-06-19T22:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/1 "2017-06-19T22:58:47Z")
Well, trademarks in general: > **[Supreme Court rules: Offensive trademarks must be allowed](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/06/supreme-court-rules-offensive-trademarks-must-be-allowed/)** > > Justice Samuel Alito: "Giving offense is a viewpoint." Basically the unanimous(!) ruling stated that granting a trademark is not endorsing the trademark This does mean the Washington football team can legally keep their name as well. Will offensive license plates be next? Brian ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/2 "2017-06-19T23:11:03Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Will offensive license plates be next? No, because license plates are making the government speak for you in a sense, by making them make a license plate which then has that message right by the state’s official logo. (Or that, at least, is an argument I could see them using. It would be a “compelled speech” argument, to use a technical term, and compelled speech is protected, in that the government can’t compel someone to say something they don’t want to without a good reason. I can easily imagine it working the other way, too.) Anyway, this just goes to show: “hate speech” doesn’t exist under American law. It isn’t a concept my country’s laws define, and I like it that way. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/3 "2017-06-19T23:24:24Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Anyway, this just goes to show: “hate speech” doesn’t exist under American law. First Amendment’s a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/4 "2017-06-19T23:26:05Z")
I managed to get an offensive license plate with the addition of an apostrophe and a dash. 😉 It doesn’t offend me, however. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/5 "2017-06-19T23:40:07Z")
This does put a new slant on things. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/6 "2017-06-19T23:46:42Z")
We should nip this in the bud. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-band-names-ok/789406/7 "2017-06-20T00:23:44Z")
Another chink in the armor of public decency.