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Dec. 30th, 2008 12:26 amThis.
This is fucked up.
A house was raided in Iowa, for comic books...
Like many anime fans in the country, I have been aware of the case against Christopher Handley in Iowa. Unfortunately details about this case weren’t entirely clear for me. All I knew is that a man was about to be tried on obscenity charges because he purchased a manga from Japan that police found offensive. Finally today I learned many more details about what is actually happening in Iowa.
In 2006, Handley ordered some manga from Japan that was intercepted by the postal inspector. After that inspector deemed the manga as ‘obscene’, a search warrant was obtained for Handley’s home. Agents from four different law enforcement agencies then searched his home and began seizing his collection of manga, DVDs, artbooks and more.
Handley is being charged with obscenity charges and if found guilty after his trial, could face up to 20 years in prison. No, he has no right to claim free speech because obscenity laws overrule free speech laws. He is almost literally facing a firing squad because he decided to buy manga. He will be facing charges from the PROTECT Act which means that he will also be labeled as a sex offender because some of the characters in the manga appeared to be underage children involved in sexual activity.Let me repeat that, there was a manga character that appeared to be under eighteen doing something that could be considered sexual.
Let’s start with the under eighteen part. If you read manga, this part should have caught your attention right away. Look up at your collection right now and start thinking about every character from the series that you enjoy that look like they could be under eighteen. And I don’t mean the loli characters that look like they could be twelve or thirteen. I mean think about those young adult characters, or the teenage characters who may in fact be under eighteen. Now think about some of the situations that they get into… possibly showing skin in a swimsuit? maybe flashing their panties at someone either intentionally or accidently? Congratulations, you have material that could be deemed obscene and showing an underage character in what someone has perceived as a sexual activity. You may now go to prison for 20 years, do not pass go, do not collect $200. This is the true and genuine reality that we could possibly face if a guilty verdict is heard when this case is finished.
http://otakureview.today.com/2008/12/11/the-case-against-christopher-handley/
http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000372.shtml
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/11/24/neil-gaiman-on-the-obscenity-of-manga-collector-christopher-handleys-trial/
This is fucked up.
A house was raided in Iowa, for comic books...
Like many anime fans in the country, I have been aware of the case against Christopher Handley in Iowa. Unfortunately details about this case weren’t entirely clear for me. All I knew is that a man was about to be tried on obscenity charges because he purchased a manga from Japan that police found offensive. Finally today I learned many more details about what is actually happening in Iowa.
In 2006, Handley ordered some manga from Japan that was intercepted by the postal inspector. After that inspector deemed the manga as ‘obscene’, a search warrant was obtained for Handley’s home. Agents from four different law enforcement agencies then searched his home and began seizing his collection of manga, DVDs, artbooks and more.
Handley is being charged with obscenity charges and if found guilty after his trial, could face up to 20 years in prison. No, he has no right to claim free speech because obscenity laws overrule free speech laws. He is almost literally facing a firing squad because he decided to buy manga. He will be facing charges from the PROTECT Act which means that he will also be labeled as a sex offender because some of the characters in the manga appeared to be underage children involved in sexual activity.Let me repeat that, there was a manga character that appeared to be under eighteen doing something that could be considered sexual.
Let’s start with the under eighteen part. If you read manga, this part should have caught your attention right away. Look up at your collection right now and start thinking about every character from the series that you enjoy that look like they could be under eighteen. And I don’t mean the loli characters that look like they could be twelve or thirteen. I mean think about those young adult characters, or the teenage characters who may in fact be under eighteen. Now think about some of the situations that they get into… possibly showing skin in a swimsuit? maybe flashing their panties at someone either intentionally or accidently? Congratulations, you have material that could be deemed obscene and showing an underage character in what someone has perceived as a sexual activity. You may now go to prison for 20 years, do not pass go, do not collect $200. This is the true and genuine reality that we could possibly face if a guilty verdict is heard when this case is finished.
http://otakureview.today.com/2008/12/11/the-case-against-christopher-handley/
http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000372.shtml
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/11/24/neil-gaiman-on-the-obscenity-of-manga-collector-christopher-handleys-trial/
