The Constitutionality of Sex Toys and a Solution for Kansas

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handling of sex toys (as a constitutional issue) has been on the rise. In a series of cases, the rights of Americans to such toys have come into play. The involvement of the federal courts have resulted from a Alabama law prohibiting the sale of sex toys and in Georgia, where an obscenity statute prohibits the sale, or advertisement for sale, of "[a]ny device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." There was also an appeals case of a civil suit against Delta Air Lines for compensatory and punitive damages for a woman's embarrassment at airline's workers holding her up for ridicule after finding an adult novelty in her luggage. The court rejected the challenge to the Alabama law prohibiting the sale of sex toys which claimed it violated a constitutional right to sexual privacy. The court found in Williams v. Attorney General of Alabama : "we hold that the district court committed reversible error in concluding that the Due Process Clause 'encompass[es] a right to use sexual devices like ... vibrators, dildos, anal beads, and artificial vaginas.'" Georgia's statute was found to have violated the First Amendment in banning commercial speech, while exempting teachers and students studying sex toys (Never saw that course listed) and those having a doctor's prescription (please follow the written instructions carefully, and discontinue use if side effects are experienced). In the Delta case, a woman and her husband had just bought a sex toy on their trip to Las Vegas (What happened in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas). A security agent noticed something buzzing in their luggage. She sued when the employees who made her remove the vibrator "began laughing hysterically" and offered "obnoxious and sexually harassing comments." She lost the case. We here in Kansas may employ a different strategy to limit the scourge of sex toys. A bill currently under careful study in the House Tax Committee, HB 2680, would apply apply a 10 percent excise tax on adult entertainment businesses and products. The so called “porn tax” is clearly misguided. Rather than a one time excise tax on purchases, we are losing the opportunity to really boost the state's coffers by making it a usage tax. A “pay as you play” plan would help to simultaneously stamp out sinful sexual gratification and provide badly needed funds. Some might point to enforcement difficulties, but surely with today's technology such hurdles could be overcome with simple monitoring devices. Collection could even be expedited by requiring the purchase of prepaid debit cards that could be swiped in bedside readers. Kansas should lead the way for the nation with this new and progressive legislation. It's an idea whose time has come. Tags: sex toys Georgia Alabama Kansas federal court appeals constitution constitutionality 1st first amendment excise tax sexual gratification stimulation porn humor