Ban on sex toys targeted
Rogers tries again to revoke ban
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
By BRIAN LYMAN
Capital Bureau
MONTGOMERY -- A Birmingham legislator has filed a bill that would revoke the state's 10-year ban on the sale of sex toys, a prohibition that has drawn national attention and led to lengthy court battles.
It's the second attempt by state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, to strike the 1998 prohibition on the sale of such devices.
"A shower head could be considered a sex toy," he said. "It's just bringing the state into the 20th century."
Dan Ireland, executive director of the Alabama Citizens' Action Program, a Baptist group, said it would oppose any effort to overturn the law.
"Laws are made to protect the public," he said. "Sometimes you have to protect the public against themselves."
The 2008 regular session is scheduled to begin Feb. 5.
The law prohibits the sale and manufacture of items "designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." It does not prohibit the possession of those items and provides an exception for devices sold for medical purposes.
The statute drew national attention and led to a nine-year court struggle over its enforcement. A series of lawsuits were filed against the state by civil libertarians, store owners and women who said the law violated privacy rights.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban in 2004, ruling there was no law guaranteeing sexual privacy for citizens and that states could pass laws regulating the sale of sex toys.
The justices added that legislators could repeal the law if they found the "prohibition on sex toys is misguided or ineffective or just plain silly."
A final attempt to overturn the law was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, seemingly removing the final roadblock against enforcement of the ban. However, a Circuit Court last month rejected an attempt by the city of Hoover to close a store selling sex toys, saying the law is too vague.
Attorney General Troy King's office has suggested that the vagueness in the bill should be addressed by the Legislature. A message left with spokesman Chris Bence Monday afternoon was not returned.
State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, sponsor of the 1998 bill, did not return a message Monday seeking comment.
Ireland said the ban is a "good law" that has bolstered public safety.
"Sexual matters are not to become a nuisance to people and the community," he said. "We have enough problems with sexual-oriented crimes without enticing or promoting it."
Randy Brinson, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, did not have any comment. "It seems we have better things to deal with than that, but I need to study it more," he said.
Loretta Nall, the 2006 Libertarian gubernatorial nominee, recently began a "Sex Toys for Troy King" drive in protest of the law, which she called a waste of time and an invasion of privacy.
She called Rogers' bill "absolutely superb" and hoped her drive would help it pass.
"If anything, it will make the Legislature and Troy King aware that we want repeal," she said. "My gut feeling is we won't see a lot of people pushing to make it tougher."
Rogers first introduced a repeal measure in 2003, but the bill made so little progress that it won the House of Representatives' "Shroud Award," an annual prize given to the legislation considered the "deadest" of the session.
Despite that and the rulings in federal court, Rogers said Monday that he believes the ban is unconstitutional and embarrassing to the state. He is optimistic about getting the repeal passed.
"I intend to pass this bill this year," he said. "I want it to be one of the first bills on the calendar."
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