Wow. Just wow.

[fictional]

The puritannical, barbaric, and unsophisticated nature of this country and its laws never cease to amaze me.

Arrested? For this? Really? Really?!

Comments

excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kayliemalinza.livejournal.com]

After Strikethroughgate, you're surprised?

It's the same damn thing. Except in this case, there's actual legal action being taken, and the person being attacked is part of a marginalized group that is slightly more well-known than LJ slashers. I guess that means the case will get more public sympathy? And by "more" I mean "any at all."


I googled it and found another article (http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000372.shtml). Some good news:

Eric Chase and his team at the United Defense Group have been vigorously defending Handley, and scored a major First Amendment victory earlier this year when the judge found portions of the PROTECT Act unconstitutional in his ruling on a motion to dismiss. District Judge Gritzner of the Southern District of Iowa found that subsections 1466(a)(2) and (b)(2) of 18 U.S.C. 1466A unconstitutional. Those sections make it a crime to knowingly produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to distribute, "a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting," that "is, or appears to be" a minor engaged in sexual conduct. Judge Gritzner found that those sections restrict protected speech and are constitutionally infirm.

It seems (based on the article's next paragraph) that Handley's case is now dependent on the Miller test, which is a bucket of laughs and does not have any crippling issues such as inherent subjectivity and blatant ridiculousness, not at all, mister. (I'm sure you've heard about the Miller Test, as it was bandied about a lot during the furor surrounding Strikethroughgate.)

The main problem with the Miller test is that it purports to rely on "common sense judgement." However, if the Miller test were applied in a common sense way, all porn would be outlawed. The court systems would be overloaded with cases, and a multi-billion dollar industry would be wiped out overnight and replaced with a multi-billion dollar black market. That black market would then have to be investigated and prosecuted by every single municipal court and run-down police force in every podunk town or city in the whole goddamn country. That would be fabulous, though, because everyone knows the cops don't have enough work as it is, right? It'd be like the War on Drugs, but more retarded: hard drugs and gang cultures are actually a problem. Porn and marijuana? Not so much.

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kayliemalinza.livejournal.com]

Here's a PDF of Gritzner's decision, if you're interested (http://www.iasd.uscourts.gov/iasd/opinions.nsf/55fa4cbb8063b06c862568620076059d/20a96a77c04347ed86257480006ae8c5/$FILE/Handley.pdf).

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[demotu.livejournal.com]

Not being adept in legalese, this means that the case is still going on but he can't be prosecuted under this Miller thingy? What's left to prosecute him under?

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

I think what it means is it shouldn't be prosecuted under the PROTECT act, (which is all about "child pornography") but now can only be prosecuted under the Miller test, which is just about general pornography.

THE WHOLE THING IS SO STUPID.

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kayliemalinza.livejournal.com]

The article explains it in non-legalese. What the judge ruled as constitutionally infirm are a few sections-- not the whole thing-- of the PROTECT act, a law concerning child porn (at least in part. Basically, the sections say that you can be prosecuted for owning a drawing, sculpture, etc. that has "what appears to be" a minor engaging in sexual activity. E.G., ponderosa's bishounen Harry getting sucked off by Snape (the materials Handley is being investigated for are yaoi manga, so the same problem with cultural differences apply-- Japanese hentai portrays lithe, hairless people who are understood to be overage, at least in Japan.)

Because of Judge Gritzner's decision that those sections of the PROTECT act are constitutionally infirm, Handley cannot be prosecuted for possession of child porn. However, he can be prosecuted for possession of "obscene materials." Whether or not the materials are obscene is determined by the Miller test: "(a) whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."


I just clicked over to get a link from my earlier comment and realized Kali had already responded to you, albeit more briefly. I'll post this comment anyway in case, um, you wanted to waste 2 more minutes of your time?


I think my comment notifications are lagging. :(

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

My comment notifications are also made of fail today. Sigh.

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

No, I know. It's exactly like strikethrough ONLY STUPIDER. Because it's a private collection, not even disseminated on the internet.

It's like hauling someone into court for doing d/s ageplay.

I don't understand the problem with pornography that pretends to have children but involves NO ACTUAL CHILDREN.

WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?

Re: excuse me while I tl;dr at you

[kayliemalinza.livejournal.com]

Hey, who knows. Maybe the patent ridiculousness of the Miller test-- the unmanagable and wrong-headed notion of illegalizing obscenity-- will be struck down as a result of this or similar cases.

I think someone needs to sue the entire porn industry, though. It's all obscene, but that's no reason to get rid of it! Attack the porn industry, the porn industry and its scads of money will win, and the Miller test will be exposed for the poorly composed and thought-out hash that it is.

AND everyone will get a puppy or a kitten. Yes.

[magnetgirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's horrible. I've heard other horrible CBLDF stories in the same vein. Basically, even though the book itself passed into obscurity in the mainstream, the crazy theories and assumptions put forth in "Seduction of the Innocent" by Frank Wertham are alive and well. That book starts out somewhat normal, and then by the end of it Wertham stands firmly in cold-war crazytown-population him.

Also, bit of 6 degrees here: "Look through your comic book collection. Do you have Alan Moore’s “Lost Girls”? Any of S. Clay Wilson’s Underground Comix? Even Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series? If the prosecution of manga collector Christopher Handley sticks, all of that and more could be considered obscene, Gaiman told MTV."

S. Clay Wilson is Lorraine's (my mom's best friend from her crazy days) long term boyfriend. He's actually in the hospital right now, maybe I told you?

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Man, the world is so small. Maybe you're more used to the knowing of your heroes thing, what with your parents and the record biz but it still seems so strange to me. Not six degrees, but one or two? It still makes me go all woogly.

This whole porn thing is so ridiculously moronic. I have that copy of Lost Girls in my study. I showed it to my class, for god's sake. (Hear that? It's the cops banging on my door...)