Indiana declaring war on books

[Gatekeeper2Hell]

www.indystar.com

The crap here in Indiana just keeps getting deeper.

A new state law that requires sellers of adult material to register with the state has Hoosier bookstore owners fuming about government censorship and threatening a legal challenge.

"This lumps us in with businesses that sell things that you can't even mention in a family newspaper," said Ernie Ford, owner of Fine Print Book Store in Greencastle.


Ford was talking about House Enrolled Act 1042, which Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into law last week. Ford was one of 15 independent Indiana booksellers who signed a letter last week urging Daniels to veto the legislation.

The new law that takes effect July 1 requires businesses that sell sexually explicit material to pay a $250 fee and register with the secretary of state, which would then pass the information to municipal or county officials so they can monitor the businesses for potential violations of local ordinances.

The bill was aimed specifically at helping counties that do not have zoning ordinances track businesses selling sexually explicit material, including videos, magazines and books, said Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, who was a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Steele said the bill's author, Rep. Terry Goodin, D-Austin, was targeting adult stores popping up in rural areas along interstates in Southern Indiana. Goodin could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Jane Jankowski, the governor's spokeswoman, said in a statement issued Tuesday that Daniels' office has no record of receiving the letter from booksellers.

"(The bill) received strong support in both houses; no complaints were brought to our attention as it worked its way through the legislative process," she said.

Steele said he believes bookstore owners are getting worked up over nothing.

The law does not apply to businesses that sell sexually explicit material on or before June 30; it applies only to new businesses, those that relocate or businesses that begin offering such material after that date.

"I just don't think that their concern is legitimate," Steele said.

But groups representing state and national booksellers say the law casts its net too wide. A legal scholar agrees, calling it overly broad and so ambiguous that it may violate constitutional rights.

"The way we read this bill, if you stock a single book with sexual content -- even a novel or a book about sex education -- you will have to register as a business that sells sexually explicit material," said Chris Finan, president of American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

"This is just outrageous from our standpoint, and we believe it is a violation of the First Amendment."

While the law does not prohibit stores from selling a book with sexual content, he said, it has a chilling effect that could force sellers to limit the scope of their offerings or get out of the business rather than being placed on a state list of businesses that sell sexually explicit works.

Finan said his group will ask the Media Coalition -- a New York-based group that defends Americans' First Amendment right to produce and sell books, movies, magazines, recordings, DVDs, videotapes and video games, as well as the public's right to have access to the broadest possible range of opinion and entertainment -- to take legal action to overturn the legislation.

A decision by the coalition on whether to enter the fight is expected by mid-April, he said.

Finan added that the association is not aware of similar laws in any other states. If it goes unchallenged in Indiana, he said, other states might try to enact similar regulations.

"I think this is very hypocritical," said Elizabeth Barden, owner of Big Hat Books on the Northside. "On the one hand, we feel a need to censor ourselves, while on the other hand, we are spending our tax dollars to free the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people."

Barden said the law could potentially cover "just about any coming-of-age novel and books on health, hygiene and human sexuality."

Henry Karlson, a professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and a First Amendment expert, said he sees several potential flaws in the law.

One is the threshold it cites for having to file with the state. It relies on a statute that describes sexually explicit material that can be viewed as "harmful" to minors, including material that "appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors."

"The problem is, minors have an interest in sex, prurient or otherwise," Karlson said, "and how do you distinguish what is normal and what is prurient?"

Another provision of the statute requires registration if a business carries an item when "considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors." While such a definition is pretty clear for adults, Karlson said, that is not the case when it involves minors.

"I can see some communities where people might think some of the literary classics did not meet that standard for minors," he said.

Karlson said he thinks businesses may have trouble knowing whether to register.

"There's this huge gray area," he said. "If you register, you get lumped in with businesses that sell pornography and other sexually explicit material on some state list, and if you don't, you could face a fine or charges."

How will this law affect comic shops selling Vertigo and Max titles? Not to mention the items on the adult Previews order form.

The owner of my lcs is worried he may have to register. His lease doesn't cover running an "adult bookstore."

[Ink]

I heard about this on the news last night

[ANGRYCOMICMAN]

The law does not apply to businesses that sell sexually explicit material on or before June 30; it applies only to new businesses, those that relocate or businesses that begin offering such material after that date.

Unless your LCS is moving, there is no problem.

[Brru]

Originally Posted by ANGRYCOMICMAN

businesses that begin offering such material after that date.

Unless your LCS is moving, there is no problem.

Or he starts selling a new book. AKA a New Sexual Comic comes out that he wants to then stock.


Way I see it the law was made to be hazy and allt he businesses should register and put a GIANT sign outside that explains the situation. With every bookstore in the state registered for one book then wouldn't that make the entire law obsolete? The police can only show up at so many "adult" stores. As for lease and insurance, I can't see any business that would break a contract cause of something like this.

[risingstar]

The US government sounds more fundamentalist all the time... It's scary.

[big_red_s]

The Democrats here in New Jersey also made it a "nanny state".

Coupled with a tax burden of double the national average and being the 49th business un-friendly state people are moving out to the rate of around 10,000 a month.

[Darth Torment]

That is just sad that this would even happen. Gimmie a break.

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by Darth Torment

That is just sad that this would even happen. Gimmie a break.

Is it any scarier than a province making it illegal for some members of its population to register their kids in an English speaking school thus forcing them to go to a school taught in a language they can barely speak, if at all?

[Gatekeeper2Hell]

Originally Posted by ANGRYCOMICMAN

Unless your LCS is moving, there is no problem.

I went digging and found the state government's web page with details on this law and my lcs is OK for now. But if the law isn't shot down in the courts, he'll never be able to move from his current location. And since the store seems a bit crowded at times, this could become a problem.

Also, this is the section that defines sexually explicit materials:

Chapter 16.4. Sexually Explicit Materials
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "person" has the meaning set forth in IC 35-41-1-22.
Sec. 2. (a) As used in this chapter, "sexually explicit materials" means a product or service:

(1) that is harmful to minors (as described in IC 35-49-2-2), even if the product or service is not intended to be used by or offered to a minor; or
(2) that is designed for use in, marketed primarily for, or provides for:

(A) the stimulation of the human genital organs; or
(B) masochism or a masochistic experience, sadism or a sadistic experience, sexual bondage, or sexual domination.

(b) The term does not include:

(1) birth control or contraceptive devices; or
(2) services, programs, products, or materials provided by a:

(A) communications service provider (as defined in IC 8-1-32.6-3);
(B) physician; or
(C) public or nonpublic school.

Sec. 3. A person or an employee or agent of a person may not offer for sale or sell sexually explicit materials unless a registration and statement are properly filed as described in IC 23-1-55-1.

Sec. 4. A person or an employee or agent of a person who knowingly or intentionally offers for sale or sells sexually explicit materials in violation of this chapter commits unregistered sale of sexually explicit materials, a Class B misdemeanor.

This line is the real problem.
"harmful to minors...even if...not intended to be used by or offered to a minor"

Who decides what is harmful to a minor? You have to remember how conservative Indiana tends to be. There are R-rated movies that can be defined as harmful to minors.
And why do magazines in the supermarket keep putting attractive women in bikinis on their covers? stimulation of the human genital organs

The way this bill is written, you can't open a comic shop, bookstore, video store, movie theater, supermarket, or the intended adult stores after July first without filing with the state (which adds $250 to your startup costs). And once you've filed, the politicians (and their various agendas) could very well stop you from ever opening in the first place.

The intention of this bill is irrelevant. What's going to matter is what it says. And the definitions are too broad.

If this law isn't shot down in court, it will set a precident for the next bill which could go after the existing businesses.

[lord odin]

As long as they don`t mess with guns,booze,video games and drugs it`s fine with me.

I get highhhhhhh off my own supply take a hit it`s good sh!t.