Jan. 25, 2007 a€" The mayor of a small Texas town wants to make people pay a€" literally a€" for saying the N-word.

Ken Corley, mayor of Brazoria, Texas, is proposing a citywide ordinance that would make uttering the racial slur punishable by up to a $500 fine.

…

But not everyone in Brazoria is in favor of the law. Rev. Dr. Melvin L. Johnson, pastor of the Heart of Christ Community Church, believes it’s just a Band-Aid approach to a larger problem.

"This particular focus on this one word does not really address the issues, because we can’t regulate people’s thoughts," said the pastor, who is black. "A person has a constitutional right to be stupid. We can’t make a law against people who may have feelings that we don’t approve of."

abcnews.go