Tennessee

State Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga and the chairwoman of the legislative black caucus, said she supports the law even amid questions of racial profiling. "Sometimes you have to look at the greatest good for the greatest number," she said. "I tend not to look at this as a profiling issue, and I cannot get my rest at night because of the loud thumping noises I hear."

http://www.oakridger.com/stories/071204/sta_20040712029.shtml

New law cracks down on loud stereos

CHATTANOOGA (AP) - A new law cracking down on loud stereos goes into place this month, meaning those caught making too much noise could be hit with a misdemeanor charge. Sounds "plainly audible" more than 50 feet from a vehicle now can earn a driver a Class C misdemeanor and a $50 fine under Tennessee law.

"I'm glad there's a major state bill now," said Suzann Loker, a Collegedale resident who said she often is disturbed by music from passing cars. "It's offensive to me and my family to hear someone's rap music rattling our windows when they're driving by."
Police said first time offenses will likely just result in a warning.

Hunter Lawhorn, a 17-year-old high school student from Soddy-Daisy, says his $2,000 custom car stereo led to a warning one night. And that was a result of breaking the city ordinance. The new state law, he says, is just too much.
"I don't understand why I can't play my music in the middle of the day," he said. "Even people with little door speakers can be heard from more than 50 feet when they turn it up."

Doug Bruggink, owner of Noise Pollution in Hixson, said parents will probably stop their kids from buying stereo equipment once word of the law gets around. "They're not going to allow kids to spend the money they earned at Winn-Dixie to buy what they want to buy," he said.
Chattanooga, like many surrounding municipalities, have local noise ordinances, but most are lenient compared to the new state law. Chattanooga's noise ordinance, which specifies unlawful decibel levels based on time of day, will be superseded by the state legislation.
State Rep. Mike McDonald, D-Portland, said the new legislation is necessary to protect people in rural areas without noise ordinances from being disturbed.

"I don't care what people put in their cars as long as they don't disturb other people," he said. When the measure passed, some representatives raised concerns that the law could aid racial profiling. The Racial Profiling Data Collection Center at Northeastern University said the center would monitor the number of citations issued over the next several months to make sure the law is applied fairly.