Every now and then towns and cities try to [fill in the blank here: stupidly, foolishly, amusingly] ban what people can say. Not just in the United Kingdom, but in other advanced English speaking countries. Such as the United States, where a Illinois town tried to ban eye rolling at city council meetings. At a Elmhurst, IL City Council meeting, the chairman of a council hearing expelled a witness after that witness sighed and rolled her eyes. Making faces behind the mayor's back is disruptive, in my opinion," the council chair said.
Or as in the District of Columbia, where you're barred from using profanity at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
