The Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998 is an

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

statute that criminalizes the sale of

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

s. The law has been the subject of extensive litigation and has generated considerable national controversy.

The statute

The statute was originally sponsored by State Senator Tom Butler of

Madison, Alabama Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest ...

as a measure to prohibit nude dancing. It prohibits "any person to knowingly distribute, possess with intent to distribute, or offer or agree to distribute any obscene material or any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs for any thing of pecuniary value." First-time offenders face a $10,000 fine and a year in prison, while repeat offenders can face up to ten years in prison. Exemptions exist for "bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial or law enforcement purposes." The law's most outspoken backers have been a coalition of conservative Christians led by Dan Ireland of the Alabama Citizens' Action Program, who defends the law on the grounds that "laws are made to protect the public" and "sometimes you have to protect the public against themselves."Lyman, Brian. Ban on sex toys targeted. ''Mobile Register'', Dec. 7, 2007

Legal challenges

Sherri Williams, an adult novelty dealer, and the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

challenged the statute on constitutional grounds.High court declines to review Alabama's sex-toys ban
''USA Today'', February 22, 2005. They argued that the precedent of ''

Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as so ...

'', which found a right to engage in consensual homosexual sex, also guaranteed a right to sell sex toys. After initially winning their case, ''Williams vs. Alabama'', in federal district court, Williams lost appeals to the 11th Circuit. The Supreme Court decided not to hear the case. Ross Winner, the owner of Love Stuff, a chain store which sells sex toys, subsequently sued to have the statute declared unconstitutional under the Alabama Constitution. Winner's position is that "a person should have the ability to come in and purchase a sexual device without having to have a reason." The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against him on September 11, 2009, and the statute's ban is now in effect.

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

John Rogers of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

has repeatedly introduced legislation to repeal the ban, but each bill has been defeated. However, adult toys continue to be sold as novelty and educational items. Adult clothing is marketed as costumes.

Public reaction

San Francisco radio personality Big Joe Lopez held a protest outside the federal courthouse in Huntsville, Alabama, giving away sex toys to passersby.Faulk, Kent. San Francisco Radio Personality Protests Sex Toy Ban, ''Birmingham News'', Feb. 23, 1999

Toy drive

In 2007, Alabama politician

Loretta Nall Loretta Nall is the founder of the United States Marijuana Party, which calls for the legalization of cannabis. She was a write-in candidate for governor of Alabama in 2006. History Nall founded the USMjParty in 2002. In 2005, she co-founded A ...

, a former

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

candidate for governor, launched a well-publicized "toy drive" to send sex toys to Alabama Attorney General

Troy King Troy Robin King (born August 22, 1968) is the former attorney general of the state of Alabama. He previously served as an assistant attorney general and a legal adviser to both Republican governors Bob Riley and Fob James. King was appointed by ...

, a staunch defender of the law.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Text of Statute11th Circuit Appeals Court 2004 decision in Williams vs AlabamaAlabama Supreme Court Decision
Alabama statutes 1999 in American law 2009 in American law Obscenity law United States pornography law