ultimately, obscenity laws hamper our human right to not only free speech and expression, but delves into deeper questions of privacy. like bills pertaining to biological sex and who can go into what bathrooms, how are these laws enforced? 4/12
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for pornography, the answer is clear: banning IPs, providing personal identification, etc. The frequently-used phrase “lewd and lascivious/salacious” to define what’s obscene sets a dangerous precedent; there are no objective truths to what lewdness *is,* and the same applies to the latter 5/12
Legislatively, America and her states have a massive problem with vague language that places a lot of power in the hands of ruling parties and the judicial. to what extent can the state enforce laws that would criminalize the consumption of porn? what about sodomy? 6/12
sodomy laws exist on the books in 12 states (KS, OK, TX, MS, LA, GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, MI, MA), only declared unconstitutional under Lawrence v Texas (2003) decision. much like the Dobbs decision (2022), the argument outline by justice Thomas against Roe (1973) applies. 7/12
In fact, Justice Thomas encouraged the SCOTUS to reconsider Lawrence (as well as Obergefell (gay marriage) and Griswold (contraception)). In the event of the court overturning Lawrence, sodomy immediately becomes illegal in the previously mentioned states. 8/12
This same opinion sets precedent to overturn any decision wrt the 5th amendment as its defence, specifically through the due process clause. The slashing of the due process clause has dire consequences in judicial review precedence. 9/12
This consequence sets the stage for further devolution of our right to privacy. then setting targets at 10m for the rifle of american conservatism to blast through transition-related healthcare (as we’ve already seen) in addition to the aforementioned issues. 10/12
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