Amazon removing gay ebooks from their catalog again

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

...all other material must be put before a jury."

Sorry, GA, but reality doesn't reflect your delusions.

ardeegee, it is the jury who states the community standard. The material must be put before the jury to determine the local community standard.

It is likely that the San Francisco standard differs from the Johnston County, NC, standard. Thus the San Francisco jury would likely find differently than the Johnston County jury. Different communities, different standards.

PS - I should explain that Johnston County is the rural area where I lived for seven years. I now live in Wake County, which includes Raleigh.

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

So by your own logic; if it's not deemed illegal by community standards, then it must not be pornography?

Diap, it's not my logic. It's the Supreme Court's.

[Iphinome]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Iphinome, my quote here is the first three sentences of my first post to this thread (post 69).

The goalpost remains unmoved from that first post. ardeegee's link verifies that we are still under the "community standards" test.

So you're saying if something is illegal to sell somewhere in the US it is illegal in the US?

So I could say handguns are illegal in the US and you won't dispute it?

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

ardeegee, it is the jury who states the community standard. The material must be put before the jury to determine the local community standard.

It is likely that the San Francisco standard differs from the Johnston County, NC, standard. Thus the San Francisco jury would likely find differently than the Johnston County jury. Different communities, different standards.

PS - I should explain that Johnston County is the rural area where I lived for seven years. I now live in Wake County, which includes Raleigh.

So all of these people & places are openly breaking the law?

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Iphinome

So you're saying if something is illegal to sell somewhere in the US it is illegal in the US?

So I could say handguns are illegal in the US and you won't dispute it?

There is no debate that a certain piece of manufactured metal is a handgun. In the case of a work of art, there is a debate as to whether it is pornography.

The Supreme Court's ruling regarding community standards says that every state government may outlaw pornography; and that it is up to the jury to use the local community standard to determine whether the work in question constitutes pornography in that locale.

[stickybuns]

One can't define community standards by what people claim to find offensive because people are lying liars who lie. Community standards are based on what the community actually does... and the community sure does like its porn!

Fun case you can read about here. The summary from Wikipedia:

In practice, pornography showing genitalia and sexual acts is not ipso facto obscene according to the Miller test. For instance, in 2000 a jury in Provo, Utah, took only a few minutes to clear Larry Peterman, owner of a Movie Buffs video store, in Utah County, Utah, a region which had often boasted of being one of the most conservative areas in the US. Researchers had shown that guests at the local Marriott Hotel were disproportionately large consumers of pay-per-view pornographic material, accessing far more material than the store was distributing.

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

So all of these people & places are openly breaking the law?

LOL! Actually, only A through F are in Johnston County. I don't know what they sell, but they don't look like bookstores to me. Perhaps some of them sell DVDs that could get them into trouble.

My impression of those stores is that they sell skimpy nighties and flavored lubricants, but I could be wrong.

[Iphinome]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

There is no debate that a certain piece of manufactured metal is a handgun. In the case of a work of art, there is a debate as to whether it is pornography.

The Supreme Court's ruling regarding community standards says that every state government may outlaw pornography; and that it is up to the jury to use the local community standard to determine whether the work in question constitutes pornography in that locale.

Ahh but this isn't a question of what is pornography. I can go out and legally buy something that a consensus would find to be porn. I don't even have to go far, they sell playboy at 7-11, 4 blocks for me. I can't buy a handgun nearby, not that I want one. So handguns are illegal in the US correct?

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

LOL! Actually, only A through F are in Johnston County. I don't know what they sell, but they don't look like bookstores to me. Perhaps some of them sell DVDs that could get them into trouble.

My impression of those stores is that they sell skimpy nighties and flavored lubricants, but I could be wrong.

The way I see it, if the parties involved are consenting & adult (preferably 21 and over since I feel 18 is not really adult), what they do to or with each other is none of my d***n business - Gay, straight, bi, or trans.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

The way I see it, if the parties involved are consenting & adult (preferably 21 and over since I feel 18 is not really adult), what they do to or with each other is none of my d***n business - Gay, straight, bi, or trans.

Bingo! I really don't understand this urgent need by some people to regulate what others do, see, or read. Isn't the US supposed to be a free country? Consenting adults, nobody is being harmed --- do you need any other standards? It is bad enough that community standards should apply to something that happens in the privacy of somebody's home.

[cfrizz]

Once again, this is dealing with supposed CHILD porn which does violate community standards as well as the law. But since it computer generated images was of a 17 year old, & we all know that a lot of 17 year old kids are having sex.

Porn exist, always has alway will. But unless it involves children, no one is going to waste tax payers money on trying adult porn cases. That includes your little town in NC which based on Google has NO problem with adult entertainment.

Or to put it another way, adult porn does NOT violate community standards in the USA, only uptight individuals who need to get a life.

Child porn violates community standards & the law & rightfully so, and should be prosecuted.


"Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said key provisions of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 were "overbroad" and infringed on established protections of material with artistic value that does not violate community standards.

"Pictures of what appear to be a 17-year-old engaging in sexually explicit activity do not in every case contravene community standards," the court said."

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Or to put it another way, adult porn does NOT violate community standards in the USA, only uptight individuals who need to get a life.
[/I]

cfrizz, you and Hans are welcome to your opinion as to what the law ought to be, but that is not the law in its current state.

Going back over Nyssa's list, I note that only five (A-F, excluding E) are in Johnston County, and three of those are in Clayton, which is a Yankee transplant bedroom community suburb of Raleigh, on the Wake County border. I note that only one is in Smithfield, the Johnston County seat.

This thread started about Amazon dealing with gay porn. All of Nyssa's five stores appear to be heterosexual in nature. I am confident that if a gay porn store opened up in Smithfield, a Smithfield jury would find that its porn violates the community standard. That's probably why there is no gay porn store in Smithfield.

[DiapDealer]

This thread started about Amazon dealing with gay porn. All of Nyssa's five stores appear to be heterosexual in nature. I am confident that if a gay porn store opened up in Smithfield, a Smithfield jury would find that its porn violates the community standard. That's probably why there is no gay porn store in Smithfield.

But it doesn't explain why you said "Pornography has always been illegal in the United States." Unless you meant "Illegal pornography has always been illegal in the United States." Which of course no one could argue with.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

This thread started about Amazon dealing with gay porn. All of Nyssa's five stores appear to be heterosexual in nature. I am confident that if a gay porn store opened up in Smithfield, a Smithfield jury would find that its porn violates the community standard. That's probably why there is no gay porn store in Smithfield.

In my experience, most stores of this type tend to be sexual in nature, period. Not specifically hetero or gay or bi or trans. Granted, there are niche stores that cater to specific clientele, but those are generally found in larger cities. What we're talking about here is your general sex shop, with something for everyone.

While I'm sure there are exceptions, I imagine most sex shops don't practice sexual discrimination. But it gave me a great idea for a short story.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I am confident that if a gay porn store opened up in Smithfield, a Smithfield jury would find that its porn violates the community standard.

Yes, I'm sure the crowd of hayseed rednecks would torch the place, grinning the whole time with all three teeth.