6 Coarse Words Face Fine Print

Bawdy bumper stickers would have to declare their coarser terms in letters only one-eighth of an inch high, under a bill passed by the Legislature and awaiting Gov. Buddy Roemer’s signature.

Democrat Roemer said he will probably sign the measure into law despite promises of a court fight over its constitutionality.

“This is an indecency bill,” said Rep. V. J. Bella, who said he introduced the measure after seeing lewd bumper messages once too often. “I’ll worry about whether it’s constitutional later.”

Bella’s bill would limit to one-eighth of an inch high and wide the letters used for six specific words describing bodily functions, body parts and sex acts.

“This is not a joke,” Bella, a Republican, told the House of Representatives when initial debate on his bill drew laughter from his colleagues. “I am just getting tired of seeing things like this attached to cars. My daughter, my granddaughter has to see this filth.”

Other lawmakers and a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union questioned the constitutionality of the bill, which gained final legislative approval Friday.