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TheHungryTiger -> RE: Sexual toys and the legislature (4/18/2008 3:42:04 PM)
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Gee, will ya look at that. Another 'kink as we know it is about to be destroyed by those evil politicians' panic atack. Has it been 48 hours already?
Ya know, without citing any sources all your post becomes is yet another 'foward this to all your friends' internet myth. Rminds me of those emails I get all the time screaming that congress is about to pass a tax on email unless we the people do somethign quick.
What you are probably refering to is the alabama anti-obscenity updates from 1998. (Oh my, 1998? This evil Bush dictatorship is traveling backwards through time to opress our freedoms.) And its not a ban on owning or possesing and dosent apply at all to what goes on inside your own home. It was only on the sale of sex toys. And even there there were excemptions in place if you could prove that the device was needed for treatement of a medical condition. Read it here if you can wade through all the legealize. http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeOfAlabama/1975/148424.htm Its article 4 division 5.
The person fighting it is Sherri Williams. They actualy have a name ya know, not just 'a local merchant'. They own the store 'Pleasures' in Huntsville and Decatur. Google on 'Williams v. Pryor' if you wanna read along. They fought the ban under the right to privacy. Somewhat similar to the ruling in the Extreme Associates case saying that if somethign in your own home is legeal, then it would be iligeal to ban the method for you to get it into your home. A federal judge agreed and the law was ruled unconstitutional.
Here is where it gets wierd.
The law was ruled as unconstitutional, however, it wasent removed from the books. Read that again. Make sense to you? Nope, me either. But the upshot of it was that there was a law on the books that couldent legaly be enforced. The stores that Williams ran remained open.
Well in april of 2003, Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham (ya know, one of those evil politicians who hate all forms of sex) introducted a bill into the state legestuature that would remove the unconstitutional parts of the law from the books. Just so that the law can be up to date with the enforcements of the court. Strangly enough, the bill didnt pass. The vote was 37-28 to leave the law on the books even though it wasent being enforced.
It didnt matter anyway, because the 11 circut cour of appels overturned the judges decision. The supreme court refused to even touch the case at all. Sensabal realy since the court was already hearing laurance v texas. Having two seperate anti-obscenity cases going at once just isnt historicaly somethign the supreme court does. They take the most important one going on at the moment and hear that.
But still, the law wasent ever enforced. Not only did williams stores remain open, but several strip bars as well as the store called 'Love Stuff' in Hoover, AL managed by Ross Winner had favoriable court statements in their favor that continued to block the law from being enforced.
Ya know, I own an adult business myself. And if it got to the point where I knew there was a law on the books againt what I did, but I also knew that the law wasent going to be enforced, I would chalk that up as a 'win' and call it a day. After all, there are laws on the books againt drivign a car unless you have a man on horseback with a lantern riding 15 feet in front of you. Thats also a law thats techinaly on the books but isnt being enforced and I dont see anyone campaigning to get that law pulled off the records.
But wiliams has an ax to grind. They took up the case all over again from the start. This time ditching the 'right to privacy' atack and instead going for a 'right to free speach' atack. (The dildos can talk?) And the whole thign started over again from scratch.
This thing has draged on for over a decade and is likely to drag on for another. And it has nothing to do with your right to own a vibe, just wether or not a store has the right to sell it to you. ..... But hey, dont let a little thing like facts stand in the way of a good 'Ack! Run for the hills! Kink as we know it is doomed!' style panic atack.
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