Mass. Mayor Vetoes Hate-Crime Law That Would Cut Services
Mayor J. Michael McGorty has vetoed a hate-crime ordinance that would have denied garbage pickup and other city services to violators.
McGorty called the ordinance, which had been unanimously approved by the City Council last week, constitutionally vague and predicted legal challenges if the city tried to enforce it.
Violators also could have been denied library cards and fishing licenses and fined $300.
The ordinance was prompted by swastikas and racist graffiti recently spray-painted on a hardware store in the city, about 25 miles west of Boston.
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