US Sex Sells News

A Florida lawmakers are sponsoring a bill in the state's legislature to officially declare porn a public health crisis. If the bill, House Resolution 157, passes, Florida would become the fourth state to classify adult entertainment as a threat to public health.

The resolution was introduced on the floor of the Florida state house this week.

Utah, South Dakota and Virginia have passed similar anti-porn resolutions. Though the bills create no new laws regulating porn, they could allow state governments to make policy changes and create prevention measures to alleviate what the lawmakers behind the measures claim is the imminent health dangers posed by porn.

As AVN.com reported earlier, those measures could include making deals with internet service providers to block online porn, once repeal of net neutrality rules takes effect sometime in 2018.

Feminist campaigners have been out on the streets of New York advertising the new pop-up sex shop in SoHo opened for the Christmas season by Pornhub.

Demonstrators claim the massively popular pornography website, which launched the store for a limited run late last month, promotes objectification, abuse, trafficking, violence and racial slurs degrading women.

Pornhub sells sexual violence, protesters chanted as they walked into the store at 70 Wooster St.

The group included the well known feminist Gloria Steinem, who said erotica is healthy but what has become mainstream porn is not.

The store, which carries branded apparel and sex toys, will remain open through Dec. 20.

New York's adults stores have so far fought a losing battle in their defence against the moralists censors of the local authority.

After losing a 20-year legal battle with the city in June that outlawed most of the remaining XXX stores, business owners are hoping to bring their case to the Supreme Court.

Erica Dubno, an attorney who has represented the industry in its long fight against the city, said she plans to submit an appeal by the end of the year. She estimates the court will decide early next year whether to review the case. Dubno acknowledged the industry's chances are slim. The Supreme Court receives about 7,500 review requests each year and usually hears about 80 cases.

The city has agreed to hold off enforcing the ban until after the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case.

Up until now the stores have been trying to evade controls on sex shops by stocking a large proportion of non sex items and then hoping to fly under the regulation radar as general stores.

Hugh Hefner died on Wednesday, at the age of 91 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

His son Cooper Hefner, chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, said his father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights, and sexual freedom. He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history.

Perhaps the impacfulness of Hefner can be gauged from comments from his opponents, the Catholic News Agency which writes:

Christian leaders in the fight against pornography have called the death of Hugh Hefner tragic, while reminding Catholics to take seriously the impact of Hefner's legacy on American culture.

Alan Sears, founder of the misleadingly named Alliance Defending Freedom said:

Nobody should ever take joy in anybody's passing [...BUT...] There have been thousands of people praying for Hugh Hefner's conversion for years, and the saddest part to me of his passing, is that we see no evidence of conversion on his part. Apparently up to the end, he took joy in this exploitation of women, of sexuality and all the other things that the secular media is lauding him for.

Offsite Article: Let's hear it for the Hef

30th September 2017. See  article from spiked-online.com by Tim Black

Hugh Hefner's commitment to liberty should be his lasting legacy.

Florida could be the next state to claim pornography as a public health crisis if a Republican lawmaker has his say. State Representative Ross Spano has filed the claim in bill, H.R. 157. Strangely he doesn't seem to have spotted more pressing and obvious dangers such as those resulting from unchecked climate change.

Similar to measures passed recently in other moralist tates, the proposal calls on Florida to acknowledge the alleged dangers of pornography and address the need for education, prevention, research and policy change to protect the citizens of this state.

Other language included in the Republican's two-page resolution accuses pornography of contributing to the hypersexualization of adolescents and claims that kids who view adult content are at a higher risk of developing low self-esteem, eating disorders and a desire to engage in dangerous sexual behavior. The bill also calls pornography potentially biologically addictive and orders the state to create recovery programs from porn addicts.

Lawrence Walters, a porn industry attorney who practices in Florida commented:

This is an embarrassment to the State of Florida. We are more evolved, and have too much respect for individual freedom, to be having this debate. Hopefully it will be short-lived.

Pretty porn star MayvenDoll, like others before her, has built a brand around public sex. But it has all gone a bit tits up as she and her producer/husband have both been arrested for their public sex themes.

MayvenDoll was charged with eight counts of public display of hardcore sexual activity, three counts of obscene film and four counts of promoting obscene performance, according to District Prosecutor Scott Ellington. Her boyfriend faces three counts of each charge.

An anonymous snitch notified the Street Crimes Unit of the Jonesboro, Arkansas Police Department, that MayvenDoll was performing sexual activities in public across Jonesboro. The source led police to the videos uploaded to porn websites online. One video showed MavenDoll going into Home Depot in Jonesboro, bending over to show her panties and flashing down different aisles of the store. According to reports, the big issue appeared to be that some of the acts took place in proximity to locations like playgrounds, public benches, and the like.

MeyvernDoll's video that led to the arrest was appropriately titled Risky B-day and is available on PornHub.

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it will end Operation Choke Point, the repressive program that discouraged banks from offering financial services to a range of companies it deemed objectionable.

Critics of the program that was initiated during the Obama administration said it was hurting legitimate businesses such. Adult entertainment companies were also affected.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd referred to the program as a misguided initiative in a August 16 letter to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte. In the DOJ's letter obtained by Politico, Boyd said, We share your view that law abiding businesses should not be targeted simply for operating in an industry that a particular administration might disfavor.

Michael Zen, a prominent director of both straight and gay adult movies since 1976, and whose film Blue Movie helped cement the top status of both its star Jenna Jameson and its producer Wicked Pictures, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 83 years old.

Michael was an editor in our business before he became a director, and he directed many great movies: Skin Hunger, Babylon, Satyr with Jenna Jameson, and he did his series Stardust for Vivid with Jenteal.

Zen was also responsible for some top-rated productions from other studios: Metro ( Taboo 17-19 , Things Change 3-4, Cinesex 1-2 and Revenge ) and Caballero ( Filthy Rich ), while on the gay side, he directed for top studios like All Worlds Video, HIS/VCA and Vivid Man. Zen also edited much of his own work.

A bill has been introduced in Texas that would raise to 21 the minimum age to work at sexually oriented businesses.

The piece of legislation, which was recently introduced, would effectively restrict employment opportunities for those ages 18-20 and make it illegal for employers to hire them. Currently, the minimum age to work at sexually oriented businesses in Texas is 18.

Sexually oriented businesses, as defined by Texas lawmakers, include a sex parlor, nude studio, modeling studio, love parlor, adult bookstore, adult movie theater, adult video arcade, adult movie arcade, adult video store, adult motel or other commercial enterprise the primary business of which is the offering of a service or the selling, renting or exhibiting of devices or any other items intended to provide sexual stimulation or sexual gratification to the customer.

However, industry attorney Larry Walters of Walters Law Group told XBIZ that he believes preventing young adults from working in a sexually oriented business violates their First Amendment rights. He explained:

When Georgia passed a similar law banning adult business patrons under 21, it was struck down on First Amendment grounds by the Georgia Supreme Court.

The state does not have a compelling interest in restricting the employment opportunity of 18-20-year-olds, particularly when the employment involves free expression.

While the U.S. Supreme Court has not spoken on the issue, it appears that a governmental attempt to prevent adults from participating in First Amendment protected performances would be unconstitutional.

Eric Paul Leue, the Free Speech Coalition's executive director, told XBiz:

Adult entertainment is and should be produced by and for adults, but we object to moralists attempting to restrict what legal jobs adults can take, what products they can purchase or the type of speech they can make. Why is a state so publicly dedicated to limiting government so eager to take away the right of consenting adults to make decisions about their lives, livelihoods and bodies? How would such a law be used to harass and criminalize and already marginalized workforce?

A bill that would see Texas men fined $100 for masturbating has taken a step closer to becoming law after it received its first reading in the state's House of Representatives.

Under section 173.010 of House Bill 4260, the Man's Right to Know Act, Texas men would only be allowed to masturbate under supervision, inside approved health care and medical facilities.

Any unregulated masturbatory emissions outside of a woman's vagina, or created outside of a health or medical facility, will be charged a $100 civil penalty for each emission, and will be considered an act against an unborn child, and failing to preserve the sanctity of life.

The bill, created by state representative Jessica Farrar of Houston, would also promote fully abstinent sexual relations and create a Hospital Masturbatory Assistance Registry to provide fully-abstinent encouragement counselling, supervising physicians for masturbatory emissions, and storage for the semen. Allowing Texas men only occasional masturbatory emissions inside the approved facilities, the bill would insist that the resulting semen be stored for the purposes of conception for a current or future wife.

Farrar knows her bill has no hope of becoming law, and has introduced it to satirise how women have been affected by targeted healthcare legislation in her state, particularly relating to abortion.

Radley Metzger, aka Henry Paris died on March 31, 2017 aged 88. He was an American filmmakerand film distributor, most noted for popular artistic, adult-oriented films, including I, a Woman (1966), Camille 2000 (1969), The Lickerish Quartet (1970), The Image (1975) and The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976).

According to one film reviewer, Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn, are noted for their lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle .Another reviewer noted that his films were highly artistic 203 and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography .

Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

A selected list of films directed includes:

• Dark Odyssey (1961)
• La Baie du désir (1964) (aka Erotic Touch )
• Dictionary of Sex (1964)
• The Dirty Girls (1965)
• The Alley Cats (1966)
• Carmen, Baby (1967)
• Thérèse and Isabelle (1968)
• Camille 2000 (1969)
• The Lickerish Quartet (1970)
• Little Mother (1973) (aka Mother )
• Score (1974)
• The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974) (as Henry Paris)
• Naked Came the Stranger (1975) (as Henry Paris)
• The Image (1975) (aka L'image ; The Punishment of Anne )
• The Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976) (as Henry Paris)
• Barbara Broadcast (1977) (as Henry Paris)
• Maraschino Cherry (1978) (as Henry Paris)
• The Cat and the Canary (1978)
• The Tale of Tiffany Lust (1979) (aka Body Lust ) (uncredited) [2] [42]
• World of Henry Paris (1981) (as Henry Paris)
• Aphrodesia's Diary (1984) (uncredited) [2]
• The Princess and the Call Girl (1984)

Following in the footsteps of Utah and South Dakota, Arkansas has become the third U.S. state to pass a resolution claiming that pornography is a public health crisis of epidemic proportions.

The resolution, which was passed unanimously last week, states that online porn is responsible for a host of social problems relating to sexuality and sexual violence. Representative Karilyn Brown, a sponsor of House Resolution 1042, whinged:

It is no longer just available in sleazy stores and distributed in brown paper bags.

The resolution claims that pornography proliferates abuse of women and children by depicting rape and abuse as if such acts are harmless, hyper-sexualization among youth, and a slew of other things related to so-called pornography.

All claims stated within the resolution, such as the idea that porn lessens the desire to marry and increases the demand for sex trafficking of young girls, are presented without sources.

The resolution does not have any specific or immediate impacts, it is intended for use by the state's Department of Health for education, prevention, and policy change at the community and societal levels.

Another similar resolution is now being considered in Tennessee.

Sex toys are banned in a backward corner of Georgia. The city of Sandy Springs enacted an ordinance in May 2004, banning the open display of vibrators and sex toys by retailers and requiring a doctor's prescription to purchase such a device.

The 11th Circuit of appeals courts will now hold an en banc rehearing (with all the judges from the court) on a challenge to the sex toy ban that it previously upheld citing a 2004 precedent.

The ban prompted a string of lawsuits arguing that the ordinance was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. However a federal judge in Atlanta upheld the ban, and in August 2016, an 11th Circuit panel upheld that decision, saying that it was bound by its 2004 ruling in Williams v. Attorney General ( Williams IV ), challenging a similar ban in an Alabama city. The appeals court noted at the time:

Although we are sympathetic to the Appellant's Fourteenth Amendment Due Process claim, we are constrained by our prior precedent in Williams IV , and we are obligated to follow it -- even though convinced it is wrong. The Appellants are free to petition the court to reconsider our decision en banc, and we encourage them to do so.

Presumably a multiple judge hearing is able to overrule previous precedents.

Update: Sex toys unbanned

24th March 2017 See  article from avn.com

Shortly after the news that the appeal court would hear a legal challenge to a city sex toy ban, the council has backed down and has now repealed the repressive law.

Sandy Springs City Council repealed the local law known as the sexual device ordinance. The local ordinance was patterned on one that had been adopted by the Georgia state legislature, but that was later invalidated, leaving Sandy Springs as one of the few communities in Georgia which retains a similar ban. A council spokesperson said:

[The] code now matches up with state law regarding adult devices by not prohibiting the sale of such devices.

While council members refused to comment on the repeal after the vote, City Attorney Wendell Willard told reporters that the law, which was enacted in 2009 and has been the subject of several lawsuits, was unnecessary and expendable.

However it seems likely that the reson for the repeal was that the law's defence was proving too expensive. A council debate on the  litigation revealed concerns that the city's insurance company balking at paying the legal bills for some of the lawsuits the city has faced thanks to its restrictive adult business laws.

The Royal Navy has banned posters of glamour models so as not to offend women sailors after some complained of feeling intimidated by the soft porn.

Perhaps the banning of public space pin ups is understandable in these PC times but the Navy's rules go further and effectively ban sailors from all but a tiny portion of available porn.

Sailors were told about the ban when they were given an amended version of the Royal Navy's Queen Regulations. A new section titled Pin-ups and Pornography reads:

Possession of films/videos and all forms of digital media (e.g DvDs, or downloads from the internet) that have been certified by the British Board of Film Censors is permitted.  All other pornographic material is prohibited.

A Naval source told The Sun about these miserable rules:

To be fair, this is part of the service coming into the 21st Century, being more inclusive and not offending women.

But a lot of the lads are moaning about this because porn has been rife across the fleet for generations, and this is the result of a few people complaining.

  State senators and representatives in South Dakota unanimously passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 4 , declaring that pornography is a public health crisis leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms.

In all, 50 legislators voted for the bill, with the sponsor Senator Jenna Netherton saying that South Dakota should join other states in trying to educate the public about the harms of porn and prevent children from watching it.

The resolution, which is virtually identical to the one passed in Utah last March, was written by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), and that pro-censorship group seems to be shopping similar bills to legislatures around the country -- including, most recently, Tennessee, where Senator Mae Beavers is doing the nasty.

And notably while pontificating about porn, the same South Dakota legislature is refusing to enact a ballot measure, passed by 60 percent of voters, instituting campaign finance, lobbying reforms, public financing for campaigns and creating the first independent ethics commission in the state's history.

William Margold was an American pornographic film actor and porn film director.

Known as Bill Margold, he was a former director of the Free Speech Coalition and was a co-founder of X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) and Fans of X-Rated Entertainment (FOXE). He was the founder of PAW Foundation, the charity for the welfare of pornography industry performers. He was also a member of the AVN Hall of Fame.

He was at one time married to the 1970s porn film actress Drea. He died aged 73 suddenly and without suffering.

He worked as a performer in some of the most celebrated movies of triple-X cinema--including 1978's Lust at First Bite (aka Dracula Sucks ), 1979's Olympic Fever and 1982's Pleasure Dome

AVN Founder Paul Fishbein reflected on Margold's unparalleled impact on adult film:

Bill Margold was a bit of a renaissance man who spanned almost the entire history of the adult industry. He was an actor, writer, director and an industry spokesman and historian. I respect him most for his PAW foundation, as he worked tirelessly on behalf of industry performers, in particular young girls who were in need of help or mentoring.

I also served with him on the board of the Free Speech Coalition for almost 10 years. He was a contrarian and a pain in the ass, but it was all for the common good for First Amendment protection, which he cared about very deeply.

Utah's most prominent anti-porn lawmaker wants to give people the ability to sue pornographers in the hope that someone, somewhere will be able to prove that watching their product causes emotional and psychological damage.

State Senator Todd Weiler received national attention for penning a 2016 resolution declaring a public health crisis caused by pornography. He not only wants to limit access to sexually explicit material to children and teens, but he believes pornographers should be held liable for the impacts their products have on adults. He said:

Right now porn is available without any warnings and labeling, without any protections online. This would just open the valve for a cause of action. Let these attorneys go after these cases.

If the Legislature passes his proposal, he said, he expects courts to initially reject claims that pornography causes real harm: But I think, eventually, the tide will turn.

Weiler is pinning his hopes on some sort of ludicrous analogy with tobacco use, where court challenges broke through big business defence of their deadly trade. But of course there simply aren't millions of porn users dropping dead, and even anti porn campaigners haven't really come up with many harms beyond instilling bad attitudes to women.