At 11:22 AM 7/5/2001 -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote:
[A followup to a cpunx thread, and a link to the statute.]
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 11:15:01 -0400 To: politech@politechbot.com From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: Ohio man convicted for "obscene" stories in his private journal Cc: tdoulin@dispatch.com
This is an unusual case. The Ohio law -- a 1970s version of which Politech member Bruce Taylor successfully defended before a federal appeals court -- applies not only to dirty pictures, but also to written material:
http://www.moralityinmedia.org/obsclawlinks.htm#oh "No person, with knowledge of the character of the material or performance involved, shall do any of the following... Create, reproduce, or publish any obscene material that has a minor as one of its participants or portrayed observers... Buy, procure, possess, or control any obscene material, that has a minor as one of its participants..."
Anyone who possesses such a visual or written description -- including a diary entry or an erotic story -- is guilty of a felony. That means Ohioans who have on their hard drive an "obscene" text file from alt.sex.stories are felons.
Other coverage: http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-07-05/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-11726... http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/07/05/loc_tristate_a_m_report.html
"What's the difference between the Russian Constitution and the American Constitution? They both guarantee freedom of speech, but the U.S. Constitution also guarantees freedom after the words are uttered." Dmitry Perevozhkin, "Anecdotes about Putin"