North Myrtle Beach’s restriction on club’s ‘vulgar’ music is discrimination, court rules
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a North Myrtle Beach nightclub owner and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina in a lawsuit against the city’s ordinance targeting “vulgar” music.
Michael Moshoures owner of the SkyBar, located at 214 Main St., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on July 5, 2022, alleging North Myrtle Beach’s October 2021 noise ordinance prohibiting “profane, vulgar and obscene music” was too broad.
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on March 11 that North Myrtle Beach’s vulgarity provision was “textbook discrimination,” reversing the U.S. District Court’s judgment that struck down the profanity provision in 2024. The appeals court ruled that the restriction on vulgar language was unconstitutional because it limited speech protected under the First Amendment.
“If Moshoures were content to play only instrumental music that one might hear in an ice cream shop or inoffensive pop songs like Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, the vulgar-language provision would have no application to him. But because he wants to play music that some might consider less wholesome, he must keep it (way) down or risk fines or imprisonment, That is textbook content discrimination,” the ruling said.
“The City acknowledges the Court’s decision to reverse in part. ... The Court’s prior ruling in favor of the City in its restriction of obscene language remains intact and was not affected by this ruling,” according to an email from North Myrtle Beach spokesperson Lauren Jessie. “We respect the judicial process and will carefully review the ruling to determine the appropriate next steps. Our primary objective remains ensuring a balanced approach that respects constitutional rights while maintaining the quality of life for our residents and visitors. At this time, our legal team is assessing the implications of the decision, and we will proceed accordingly.”
A U.S. district judge ruled in 2024 that the ordinance’s restrictions on “profane” language did indeed violate free speech, saying in the ruling that it was “unconstitutionally overbroad” and vague, according to court documents. However, the judge sided with the city when it came to obscene and vulgar language.
Moshoures’ suit stems from incidents in which police entered the bar and forced a DJ to stop playing music multiple times, according to the suit. Music played by the nightclub includes songs that could be considered profane language.
From the time the noise ordinance was implemented in 2021 and then later amended to include prohibit “profane, vulgar, and obscene music,” through October 2024, 33 noise ordinance tickets were issued with two of those being issued in the area of the Sky Bar, according to the City of North Myrtle Beach through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The city’s ordinance prohibits the use of sound equipment to broadcast obscene, profane, or vulgar language from any commercial property, private property, public right-of-way or city property in excess of 30 decibels from 7:01 a.m. to 10:59 p.m., the noise equivalent of speaking in a whisper, and 50 decibels from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., roughly as loud as a normal conversation.
