The Mississippi Sex Toy Ban

Posted on | March 22, 2006

I have a general notion that morality and politics are two mutually exclusive concepts. Not so much because I think politicians have serious moral problems because I know they do, but rather it is because I believe morality should not be legislated for the most part because political groups, mostly the ones who operate under the facade of religion, waste the time of both state legislatures and the US Congress with their moral bullshit so that real business is not taken care of.

Here is a classic example. In one of his blog entries on MSNBC.Com, Dan Abrams of The Abrams Report mocks the state of Mississippi because of a law that bans the sale of sex toys. It is refreshing to see that Mississippi has solved all of the relevant problems that state has had so that it could enact such a law. The state also apparently feels that handguns, an obvious danger to society in the wrong hands, are perfectly acceptable to be sold at shows without background checks but that dildos and vibrators in the hands of adults consenting to buy them are simply too dangerous to be allowed to be sold. So in a sense, Mississippi says sex is a greater threat to society than things like obesity, guns, cigarettes. In his comparison, Abrams takes note of the following:

People can buy guns at a gun show with no background check and certain weapons can be carried almost anywhere
Levies only an 18-cent tax on cigarettes, 55 cents below the national average
62 percent of residents are overweight, making it the fattest state in the country, however gym class in public schools is not mandatory

I have never heard of anyone being killed by someone, getting cancer, or getting fat by using a dildo for its intended purpose. But if you look at Mississippi’s laws, that sex toys pose a threat greater than those posed by guns, obesity, and smoking. And Mississippi is not alone in this.

My own state of Michigan with its Republican-controlled legislature passed a bill that requires abortion providers to offer women the chance to see ultrasound images of the embryo they want to abort and our Democrat Governor who says she will sign it. It is so heartening to see that the anti-abortion agenda is getting legislature time at the expense of things that effect more people in the state and do not have an agenda attached to them. Like the fact Michigan has an unemployment rate of 6.2% which is higher than the national rate or 4.8%. More than twenty retail stores, local, state, regional and national, have closed. Then there are the economic problems with the big three automakers in the state as well.

External Links:

MSNBC - Mississippi outlaws sex toys

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Comments

6 Responses to “The Mississippi Sex Toy Ban”

Kathy
March 23rd, 2006 @ 12:38 am

Alabama also has a ban on the sale of “marital aids”. It was tacked onto a bill that addressed topless dancing, and most legislators had no idea it was included. But when there was talk of overturning the ban, our esteemed former attorney general vowed to defend it with his very life. Anything to protect us from those dangerous dildoes and evil vibrators…
KP
March 24th, 2006 @ 8:26 am

So…if someone in AL or MS orders “marital aids” online via Adam & Eve or Good Vibrations, will they be punished? Are previously owned dildoes grandfathered in?
Kathy
March 24th, 2006 @ 6:41 pm

KP, I don’t know the answer to that question. To be on the safe side, it would be best not to leave the dildo in plain sight if the sex police come to the door.
The Angry Fag
March 24th, 2006 @ 6:46 pm

LOL Kathy!

To answer your question theough KP, probably not since it falls under the protection of Lawrence v. Texas decision.
KP
March 27th, 2006 @ 3:13 pm

Oh shit…this is too funny!

Sex stores in VA suck compared to those in CA (where I grew up). Figures I had to buy my Hitachi Magic Wand (a Navy wife’s best friend) off Amazon.
The Angry Fag
March 27th, 2006 @ 3:16 pm

Mail order is a girl’s (and gay guy’s) best friend. LOL.