"Woman Who Sold Sex Toy Has Charges Dropped"

[GreenPartyVoter]

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas woman charged with violating obscenity laws for selling a sexual toy and explaining to her customer how to use it has had the case against her dismissed, court officials said on Monday.

Joanne Webb, a mother of three and a former schoolteacher in the town of Burleson near Forth Worth, was facing up to a year in jail after she sold a vibrator at a private party to two undercover police officers posing as a married couple.

The case received national attention because it touched off a debate on whether a person should be jailed for selling vibrators to adults.

Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore said in a statement that his office last week asked a judge to dismiss the case in order to prevent the county from wasting resources on it.

http://news1.iwon.com/odd/article/id/212531|oddlyenough|07-20-2004::08:48|reuters.html

[Soloflecks]

1. Yippee!

Saw a story about her, and I'm glad the authorities came to their senses. It was Harper Valley PTA all the way. Ridiculous!

[calico1]

2. This is so ridiculous and such a waste of

taxpayer money.

[Jeebo]

3. Those undercover cops were lower...

...than they thought the woman selling them the vibrator was. SHE was the victim; THEY were the perps.

This country is mentally ill when it comes to sex.

Ron

[sui generis]

7. indeed we are mentally ill

and the rest of the developed world laughs at us. Grew up in Europe where nudity (and sexuality) is such a complete non-issue. When I moved here at 14 I was the one who was shocked by how puritanical the "Land of the Free" is about something as natural as our BODIES! I still don't get it, but I guess "modesty" is a learned behavior, along with puritanism.

[mongo]

4. They didn't want to be the case that overturned the law

Ms. Webb had overwhelming support. And the story is wrong. She wasn't busted at a party. She met these two cops in her office, expecting to book a party for them. They didn't want a party and started telling her about their marital problems, and she made some toy suggestions to them.

The next dildos as obscenity case is in Kansas: http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/2969058/detail.html

29 counts, all for sex toys. Their logic is that it is easier to get a conviction for toys than movies, because a movie must be judged as a whole work of art. As far as toys go, if it is designed for sexual pleasure, it is illegal.

Alabama's dildo law was overturned last year.

[Endangered Specie]

5. So, your saying she got off?

:evilgrin:

[rock]

6. We have a War Crimes pResident

and they waste their times on this crap!

[tabasco]

9. Goddam dildo police

Jesus H. Christ

[gauguin57]

8. If we've ever needed lots of vibrators in this country ...

... it's NOW, when George W. Bush is in office and is destroying the country.

(I suppose it could be argued that Bush is the biggest "dildo" ever, but ...)

If we didn't have access to sex toys (or at least sex) ... we'd all be losing our friggin' minds from TENSION.

Hooray for Joanne Webb!

[Sparkly]

10. I think certain men are afraid of being "replaced" sexually

especially by something more sizeable, and something that doesn't expect you to cook for it, clean for it, or put up with its yelling... If women can earn their own money, raise their own kids and (heavens!) have their own orgasms, men might actually have to *merit* a woman's company instead of just having women dependent upon them...

(No offense to men of merit -- I'm very happily married to one!)