The thought of them nailing Gaetz with the Mann Act makes me delirious with delight.

[TygrBright]

The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act

The Mann Act, perhaps more than most laws, was clearly a product of its time. At the turn of the last century, the Industrial Revolution had taken hold and the old order of rural, largely male-dominated America began to fade. New technologies, such as the typewriter, allowed many women to support themselves financially for the first time, and many flocked to the cities. The modern notion of dating was born.

With these changes came concerns about the country's moral underpinnings. By 1907, a full-fledged moral panic set in. There were rumors, taken as truth, that women were being forced into prostitution and shuttled around the country by vast networks controlled by immigrants, who were arriving in the U.S. by the millions. The plague of "white slavery" was on everyone's minds. Muckraking journalists fueled the hysteria with sensationalized stories of innocent girls kidnapped off the streets by foreigners, drugged, smuggled across the country and forced to work in brothels.

It was into this charged environment that the Mann Act was born. Signed into law by President Taft in 1910, the Act made it a crime to transport women across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." It was that last clause "for any other immoral purpose" — that would prove the most problematic and give rise to concerns that the law enabled the government to legislate morality.

(emphasis mine)

The Mann Act has a long, ugly history of being used as a tool of racists. Thinking about it being used to take out a racist tool is like... cosmic justice.

happily,
Bright

[Ocelot II]

1. Me, too. It would be just delightful and would make my day.

Not quite as much as Trump being indicted, but it would be quite lovely.

[Hekate]

2. Chuckling along with you, Bright. I wonder how many Americans even know about the Mann Act?

I thought of it straight off when I read that Gaetz had paid this girl’s travel expenses on an out-of-state trip with him.

Oopsie!

[Clash City Rocker]

3. I can just hear Republicans saying "At least this one's a girl"

[kskiska]

4. Chuck Berry did time due to the Mann Act.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. I'm guessing Jerry Lee Lewis not so much.

White, thrice-married cousin-fuckers who take their 13-yo trophies on the road for world tours get slightly better treatment.

[kskiska]

9. She was the daughter of one of the guys in his band.

Parental consent?

[WA-03 Democrat]

5. Yeah President Taff!

Does Nestor know?

I’m not telling him. I cannot do it. It will break his heart into a billion specs of dust.

[Leghorn21]

7. I'm trying to stay deeply, truly, steadfastly CALM here, but

DAYAM!!!