Earlier this month a Tampa court announced a sentence of 46 months in federal prison in the Max Hardcore case. So far I haven't heard any discussions about it that don't dismiss his case as a laughable curiosity and/or disintegrate into not-the-point debates over people's personal reactions to his videos.
Am I the only one thinking it's a serious leap into scariness for our country to send a man to federal prison for four years on "obscenity" charges? He produced hardcore consensual porn videos using only adult actors. No one's disputing that. He was sentenced based on the usual obscenity test of offending "community standards" (trial was in Tampa but charges are federal). Don't obscenity charges typically lead to financial penalties (fines and/or confiscation of the materials in question) rather than prison time?
Is this case getting ignored because free speech advocates aren't crazy about a hardcore gonzo porn producer as a First Amendment test case? Well, test cases for free speech are, almost by definition, not comfortable for everyone. I'm personally way happier arguing for hardcore porn or for 2 Live Crew lyrics than arguing for Neo-Nazis' right to march down Main Street -- but I will argue for all of them. Personal comfort is not the point.
I absolutely believe the slippery slope of criminally prosecuting speech is more dangerous than any speech itself. What's next -- and who's next?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment