Appeals court upholds Alabama's ban on sale of sex toys

[Doondoo]

A federal appeals court issued a Valentine's Day ruling upholding an Alabama law banning the sale of sex toys. But the devices won't disappear from store shelves immediately.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Alabama's sex toy ban is constitutional because "the state's interest in preserving and promoting public morality provides a rational basis for the challenged statue."

Chris Bence, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the plaintiffs have additional appeals left and the state agreed years ago not to enforce the law until the case was completed.

The lead plaintiff, Sherri Williams, said she was disappointed the 11th Circuit dated its ruling "on the very day this nation celebrates romance."



http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/16707933.htm

[AnOhioan]

1. Oh brother.....

Like the Court does not have any bigger isues to deal with :eyes:

[Auggie]

2. On Valentine's Day, no less.

That's really twisted

[fasttense]

3. At a time when hundreds of our military

are dying, billions of our tax dollars are stolen by corporations, thousands of our college graduates can't find good paying jobs and a third of our children can't get medical coverage, Alabama bans the sale of dildos. Wow, they sure know how to ignore real issues.

[liberal N proud]

4. Uptight bastards

Do they really think that will stop people from enjoying sex?

[whistle]

5. That should bring a significant rise in the popularity of spin tub

...automatic washers and cucumbers not to mention truck stop glory holes

[Felinity]

6. Just plain dumb. n/t

[TheWatcher]

7. It's so good to see the most important issues being attended to in our country

:sarcasm:

[sugapablo]

8. What about mail order?

Can Alabamans still go to http://www.extremerestraints.com ?

I mean seriously...if this ain't the dumbest thing ever!

What about condoms? Will drug stores have to pull "ribbed for her pleasure" Trojans off the shelf? What about Astroglide? Is that a "toy"? If not, what about Motion Lotion? Can that still be sold?

[Ian David]

9. "Rational"?? n/t

[Richard Steele]

10. Don't despair, Alabamians. Always remember:

ANY toy can be a 'sex toy'.
Location, location, location!

[LiberalFighter]

12. Will there be a run on cucumbers? Super size carrots?

[Turbineguy]

16. And let's not forget

rudely shaped turnips. And then there's radishes!

[woodsprite]

17. And electric toothbrushes! n/t

[sakabatou]

28. The Harry Potter Toy Broomstick

[derby378]

36. Man, that ain't right...

[Pastiche423]

38. Will hand held showerheads be verboten?

[President Kerry]

49. those have been outlawed too in Alabama..

as is sexy loungerie.. /sarcasm/ oh man, it's just sad.

[alarimer]

11. "Public morality" What they hell is that?

And why is the state involved in what people do in the privacy of their own homes? Has Alabama somehow fallen into a black hole and emerged in the 1950's? Or did they never leave it? At least Texas allows you to own up to 5, although I fail to see how that is anyone's business either.

[Frank Cannon]

35. Exactly my question

Are these things designed to be used in public?

[alarimer]

39. It's not as if people won't still be buying them

There are plenty of places online where you can buy them.

[Canuckistanian]

50. What? Texas limits you to 5 sex toys?

What about the "pursuit of happiness" clause?

Does that not count as much as the right to bear arms?

[LiberalFighter]

13. Are they forgetting about the ingenuity of Americans? We are not cavemen!!

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. This isn't a sex toy. It's a gardening implement.

The vibrations and attractive coloration aid in creating the finest, fully-moral gardens around.

(Usedta be that women had to cross state lines to have an abortion. Now they'll have to do so for "relief" from "stress".) Anyone want to go in on a line of toy stores just across the border?

[Thor_MN]

54. It's a power muddler for making Mint Juleps, officer...

[B3Nut]

15. What a bunch of backward, meddlesome nincompoops

The only violation of public morality here is the intrusive, medieval, and authoritarian law passed and defended by intellectually-defective idiots. Let me guess...the appellate court in question is packed with Republican appointees...did I win?

Oh well...they can always go to www.goodvibrations.com (I think that's the right addy...) :D

Todd in Beerbratistan

[youngdem]

18. Typical

A bunch of prudish, impotent elderly assholes decide what is moral for the rest of us, freedom be damned.

Someone should send these uptight assholes a bouquet assortment of dildos and ticklers. They sure do seem like they could use it.

Banning sex toys is nothing more than misogyny. Insecure, stupid, conservative men get uptight like a whore in church when they perceive that their domain is threatened.

[MindPilot]

19. Misogyny? I don't think that is their motivation...

It's more along the lines of those "prudish, impotent elderly assholes" who are also quite likely fat and very unattractive hoping that if they ban the dildo, women desperate for gratification and relief will have no other option but the shriveled winkys of the aforementioned coots.

[youngdem]

21. I have heard it justified in terms of Misogyny.

I live in South Louisiana, and they attempted a similar bill here, and the wingnuts were tongue-wagging all damn day about how these 'tools of satan' were usurping the role of a man in a woman's life, and that since sex for any purpose other than procreation is a sin, they judged the women as sinners for seeking the toys. And that, if not banned, these toys would lead to an explosion of divorces and the like because women would no longer need men.

Note: The restriction does not cover men's aids - creams, lubes, fake vaginas, etc. Only covers women's toys.

So, yes, it is very right to assert that misogyny and a desire to keep women 'in their place' is a huge part of the motivation.

[MindPilot]

32. Actually I was using that as a jumping off point to make a joke...

I had NO IDEA that it was gender-specific. Honestly it never entered my mind that a "sex toy ban" would be only for the penetrator objects and not "penetratee" devices.

I figured it was just more sex is only for makin' babies bullshit from the Christians. Truly I am amazed; to me a ban on sex toys is bizarre enough. A ban only on women's sex toys is beyond my comprehension.

I stand corrected.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. When they start chopping off their own right hands...

then I could believe it's not about misogyny.

[Zorra]

20. GOP minfolks is earlin' up thur shootin' irons cuz all the wimmens

what's republican is leavin' Bammy to buy thur toys and meet more what ya might call more fulfillin' minfolk.

[Az_lefty]

22. How about a ban on chewing tobacco?

wouldn't that promote public morality?

[Irreverend IX]

23. How will they stop people from smuggling them in?

Will they create a State Sex Toy Task Force within the state patrol, complete with lube-sniffing dogs? Will they send SWAT officers to do dynamic entries on the homes of suspected toy-users? This could get really amusing. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! DROP THE DILDO AND PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

[krispos42]

55. Sounds like a Dave Attell line... rotflmao!

[HuffleClaw]

24. meep

seriously? sex toys? whats next? the sears catalog?

[KamaAina]

25. And what exactly is considered a "sex toy"?

I figure Alabamians have at least as much imagination as anyone else. Will the Junior Anti-Sex League go through every dairy aisle in the state destroying cans of Reddi-Wip?! :eyes:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

26. Piggly Wiggly to stop selling cucumbers?!

nt

[depakid]

27. When Republican legislators and judges get together

You'll get outcomes like these every time....

Sometimes you just have to pity the poor South.

[MindPilot]

33. Next time someone asks...

"Hows come the only groups it's OK to mock is Christians & Southerners?"

You can answer: "Because of stupid shit like this."

[depakid]

37. Oh, it gets worse

My whole family's from the deep South, and you should hear what otherwise "educated" people say sometimes- It'll make your jaw drop. There are times kicking back on a porch, when I've asked myself "Did I really hear that- from this person?"

In all fairness, it's not only the deep South- it spreads westward:

"Texas mom faces trial for selling sex toys

Joanne Webb is a mother of three, a Baptist, a booster of the town of Burleson, Texas, and a former schoolteacher. She also faces trial for being a smut merchant. Webb, 43, was arrested in November by two undercover police officers for selling sexual toys and charged with violating Texas obscenity laws. She could face up to a year in jail and a fine of $4,000 if convicted.

Webb is a representative for Passion Parties, a California company marketing potions, lotions and sexual toys sold at gatherings that mimic Tupperware parties. Women over 18 meet in a private home for what the company calls a "girl's night out of giggles and fun," during which products designed to enhance sex lives are sold.

It was not a secret in Burleson, a small town near Fort Worth, that Webb sold vibrators, edible creams and racy lingerie. But not everyone was happy about it. According to reports in the local media, police said a few residents, who they declined to identify, lodged complaints. A few prominent citizens with strong Christian beliefs were angered by Webb and her activities and asked police to investigate, local media reported.

Two undercover police officers posed as a couple trying to spice up their love life and Webb sold the woman a vibrator. Webb instructed her on its use and explained how it could enhance lovemaking....That's where she got into trouble."

More: http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/11/obscenity.trial.reut/

In addition, The "new" US Supreme Court- with Roberts and Alito- confirmed, they denied certiorari (a hearing) on a similar case which could have put a stop to this fundamentalist nonsense:

"The Supreme Court today (Monday, October 2, 2006) declined to hear refused to consider a case challenging the constitutionality of a Texas law that makes it a crime to promote "sex toys shaped like sexual organs." Snip from AP item:

An adult bookstore employee in El Paso, Texas, sued the state after his arrest for showing two undercover officers a device shaped like a penis and telling the female officer the device would arouse and gratify her.

The employee, Ignacio Sergio Acosta, says a Texas law outlawing the manufacture, marketing or dissemination of an "obscene device" including those shaped like sex organs is unconstitutional because it prevents individuals from using such devices, violating their right to sexual privacy.

Colorado, Kansas and Louisiana have held such laws unconstitutional, while Georgia, Mississippi and Texas have upheld them, said Acosta's lawyer in urging the Supreme Court to take the case.

cf. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/02/AR2006100200422.html
-----------

Could it be Roberts and Alito- along with some others- are looking for the "right" sorts of facts to overturn Lawrence v. Texas?

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=02-102

Interesting.

[Hekate]

53. That kind of entrapment harks back to when contraception was an obscenity...

Teaching contraceptive techniques inevitably includes teaching about body parts and how to put barriers betwixt egg and sperm.

The Comstock Laws on obscenity were invoked to send Margaret Sanger and others to jail for their efforts. And yes, female undercover vice cops were sent to Sanger's clinics in order to trap her into prescribing contraceptives.

This is all so stupid and intrusive.

Hekate

[WindRavenX]

29. fuck you alabama

:thumbsdown:

[piedmont]

40. Uh, care to clarify?

[WindRavenX]

42. Sure

Fuck you Alabama, you backwards ass state.

There we go.

[piedmont]

43. I'm glad you feel so superior. Geography is something to be proud of, isn't it?

Thanks for showing your ass.

[WindRavenX]

44. Where did I imply it was ass southern thing...?

It's a state thing. And yes, any state that BANS and then reaffirms the previous ruling to BAN SEX TOYS deserves to be told to fuck off.

And it's not limited to the south.

[piedmont]

46. If you just mean the government, then I'm pretty much with you.

But I take "fuck you Alabama" as telling the entire state (gov. and citizens) to fuck off. Alabama is not a homogenous bloc of freepers-- lots of people there don't want this idiotic law, and don't deserve the insult.

[Solly Mack]

30. Idiots

[BattyDem]

31. Are they going to cut off people's hands, too?

:eyes:

What does masturbation have to do with morality? Besides ... it's not always about "self pleasure" - plenty of couples use toys as well. Why is an orgasm immoral? How is a private experience a matter of public morality? If their true intention is to preserve and promote public morality, then why don't they outlaw pre-marital sex, adultery and all public displays of affection? Why not force people to be "properly covered" from head to toe? Why not create a "sex police force" to make sure every resident is ONLY having sex for the purpose of procreation with their spouse, in the dark, in the missionary position, without using toys and without engaging in anal or oral activities. No orgasms allowed unless someone ends up pregnant! :P

Punishing people or making them feel guilty/dirty for enjoying sex or masturbation has nothing to do with morality. It's all about religion ... and that has NO place in public law! :grr:

[DKRC]

48. Give'em time! The Christiantaliban is workin as fast as they can. nt

[BadGimp]

34. The extent of the Sexual Oppression in this country amazes me

Who's afraid of Sex Toys??

not me

[IndianaGreen]

45. Assume the missionary position!

In the Christian Heaven, there is no sex, no trees, no lakes, no mountains, no beaches, no oceans, no song birds, no dogs, no cats, no beer, no nothing that gives pleasure or that is pleasant.

In the Christian Heaven the souls of the "Saved" spent an eternity kissing GAWD's ass, telling "Him" what a wonderful GAWD "He" is.

Are we sure that's heaven, or is it hell?

[MrSlayer]

47. Normal things like sex are bad, abnormal things like killing are fine.

Fucking backward society.

[daleo]

51. The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation

Famously said by Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau, long ago.

[susanna]

52. What is kind of funny about this:

In the courts zeal to preserve morality, or a passing glimpse at it, they have neglected the strip bars. Seriously - they were all the way up and down the interstate, and sprouting like mushrooms after a good rain, the last time I drove through (few years ago).

[Name removed]

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