(no subject)

[meganbmoore]

Via woodburner :

Handley, 38, faces penalties under the PROTECT Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1466A) for allegedly possessing manga that the government claims to be obscene. The government alleges that the material includes drawings that they claim appear to be depictions of minors engaging in sexual conduct. No photographic content is at issue in Handley's case.

"Handley's case is deeply troubling, because the government is prosecuting a private collector for possession of art," says CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein. "In the past, CBLDF has had to defend the First Amendment rights of retailers and artists, but never before have we experienced the Federal Government attempting to strip a citizen of his freedom because he owned comic books. We will bring our best resources to bear in aiding Mr. Handley's counsel as they defend his freedom and the First Amendment rights of every art-loving citizen in this country."

Mr. Handley's case began in May 2006 when he received an express mail package from Japan that contained seven Japanese comic books. That package was intercepted by the Postal Inspector, who applied for a search warrant after determining that the package contained cartoon images of objectionable content. Unaware that his materials were searched, Handley drove away from the post office and was followed by various law enforcement officers, who pulled him over and followed him to his home. Once there, agents from the Postal Inspector's office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Special Agents from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and officers from the Glenwood Police Department seized Handley's collection of over 1,200 manga books or publications; and hundreds of DVDs, VHS tapes, laser disks; seven computers, and other documents. Though Handley's collection was comprised of hundreds of comics covering a wide spectrum of manga, the government is prosecuting images appearing in a small handful...

The rest of the article is here.

No words.  Too busy hiding my manga. 

Comments

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

It's interesting how freaky things become when you take a step back and aren't just deep in the story. Like Fido, a zom-com that features necrophelia, pseudo-bestiality, and adultery resulting in a pregnancy.

In one relationship.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's like me and wuxia: as I'm watching and posting on it, I'm usually in the wuxia fangirl mode. Then a couple months pass and I go "wait...did it really have THAT plotline?"

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

And . . . overall, I think obscenity is what you make of it. Fun things that soley involve consenting adults? Should not qualify for anything but free speech.