Forum - View topicNEWS: Oregon Laws to Limit Adult Content from Minors Rejected
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immortalrite
Posts: 56 Location: Yonkers, NY |
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I am actually surprised to learn that these laws existed in the first place, considering how liberal Oregon is as a whole. Anyway, good thing they got overturned. Powell's demonstrates their awesomeness once again; after all, if they are willing to stand up for their Holocaust Denial section, I would be seriously concerned if they didn't oppose this.
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littlegreenwolf
Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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"fantastical sex scene between Charlotte and Lord Griffin"
That has to be the nicest description of that scene I have ever heard. I think that particular bit of the manga left me a bit disturbed for a while, but it didn't make me love Berserk any less, and it by no means is for children. Score one for the comic books! Way to go judges who actually think logically. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Complete info at http://mediacoalition.org/PowellsBooksInc.v.Kroger
Amicus Brief for some rationale on plaintiff's behalf:
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Greboruri
Posts: 373 Location: QBN, NSW, Australia |
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Rukiia
Posts: 1897 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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Oh, most definitely. Like with some parents wanting to have Harry Potter banned because they assume it is a book on how to use witchcraft. Yet there still are parents who are overly protective of their children that they blame others for when their kids get their hands on "inappropriate material". Like my Love Hina story. That lady went nuts on the retailer when she should have sat down with her kid and educate him on how he shouldn't be reading things like Love Hina until he is a bit older. |
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bayoab
Posts: 831 |
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The problem is that it was written in such a way that, for example, an older teen giving their sibling a book with some mature content (ex. Beserk) could be classified as violating this law with the only guarantee being the state saying they won't prosecute. More details here, here, and here. |
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prime_pm
Posts: 2333 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Looks like I won't be making this trail anytime soon
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yuna49
Posts: 3804 |
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The law is fairly clear on the requirements that something be judged "obscene." The ruling precedent is still, I believe, Miller v California, which applies a three-prong test for obscenity: 1. whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards (not national standards, as some prior tests required), would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; 2. whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions specifically defined by applicable state law; and 3. whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Most of the jurisprudence since Miller concerns works that clearly meet the description in (2), but might be exempted because of (1) or (3). Works like Berserk can generally be defended as having "serious literary" value and cannot be characterized as obscene under (3). Read the citation from configspace's posting above to see how (1) came into play as well. You're probably uncomfortable with the "community standards" test as am I. The Max Hardcore case, for instance, raises the possibility that anything transmitted over the Internet might need to conform to the tastes of the citizens living in the most conservative jurisdictions. I'm hoping cooler judicial minds will overturn this verdict upon appeal. Handley might well have been cleared in more liberal jurisdictions like New York or Los Angeles; unfortunately for him, he was living in Iowa. |
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The Xenos
Posts: 1519 Location: Boston |
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Good to see Dark Horse standing up for itself and free speech in the medium of comics. Though really I think Berserk can be quite pornographic, with both sex and violence, but I still don't see any reason to ban it. Then again I agree with the saying that most television ads are technically pornographic because they don't have any artistic value. And really when you get down to arguing what has artist merit and what doesn't, that's a damn minefield.
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the-antihero
Posts: 726 |
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So kids can learn Sex Ed in school but can't see a infrequent pictures in comics and whatnot.
I wish people who didn't know anything about stuff wouldn't talk about things as if they did. |
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Greed1914
Posts: 4410 |
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I'm fully aware of the Miller test, but it still isn't very specific. Part two is the only one that is clear. If the act depicted is illegal where you are, then it fits. However, the other two are very open for debate. What defines the community? And what defines having serious value? It plays too loose with definitions for my taste, which is why I like that the court denied this for being overly broad. What gets considered obscene ultimately ends up being a case by case basis. |
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javeska
Posts: 16 |
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This is great news. It's time parents start taking responsibility for what their kids do.
I had an aunt who refused to let her kids even watch Disney. Did she go all psycho when they actually started buying those movies? No. Parents need to start getting actively involved in their children's lives. Don't blame others because your kid is reading something you don't approve of. If laws like this aren't rejected then we might as well start going after teachers who teach Lolita in schools. There's arguably rape, incest, and prostitution (if you put your blinders on) in that book. Yet, there are scholars who proclaim it's a great critique on American materialism. |
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GloriousMaximus
Posts: 138 Location: North America |
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If parents can't bother to learn about the things their children are interested in... well... those parents need to rethink their priorities.
But I don't see why these big stores couldn't have some of this manga on a list and when they scan the SKU on the computer thing, that the computer could tell them that its a mature title and in some instances, should ask for ID. Since most manga has an age rating on the back the stores could just go by that rating and ask for ID for the 16+/18+ manga. Seems like a simple thing to do, IMO. |
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prime_pm
Posts: 2333 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Still, this looks like a good source of customers for Ebay...
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tygerchickchibi
Posts: 1448 |
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Stores have shrinkwraps on 18+manga and even some 16+ titles. Ironically, adult/relationship books are much easier to access. They wouldn't need to scan the SKU for it.... I just find this really odd in itself because series like Twilight are read by 12-13 year olds and have more suggestive themes. |
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