HEADS UP

This is just my way of sharing information about a bill that can affect the reading community.

I’m not posting this as an invitation to debate politics, debate anything. Debates can too easily get overheated and I’m too busy to babysit if it does happen so lets just not~knowing how easily things of a political nature can get heated, I’m turning comments off for this post. As I said, I’m too busy to babysit and all it takes is one thoughtless, snide comment to send things downhill.

There’s a bill that been passed that could affect booksellers~things that affect booksellers could affect readers and writers.

Jane did a rundown on it over @ Dear Author. The main highlights are:

Sec. 2. (a) For purposes of this chapter, materials, products, or services are “sexually explicit materials, products, or services” if:
(1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that:
(A) the dominant theme of the materials, products, or services, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex; or
(B) the materials, products, or services depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; or
(2) the materials, products, or services are designed for use in or marketed primarily for:
(A) the stimulation of human genital organs; or
(B) masochism or sadism.
(b) The term does not include:
(1) birth control or contraceptive devices; or
(2) services, programs, products, or materials provided by a communications service provider (as defined in IC 8-1-32.6-3).

If the bill was aimed at protecting the community from sexual offenders, it would be one thing but it isn’t. It’s a step down a road we really don’t need to go.

There are plenty of people who consider romance as ‘porn for women’ so this bill worries me on that aspect. I’ve written both my local rep and the author of the bill, Terry Goodin about my disappointment in it.

Even though as a mother, I can see where Mr. Goodin might be coming from, the bill bothers me. And I do think he had good intentions~if you read check out the above link, it offers some insight behind the bill. A store opened in his neighborhood claiming it was just going to sell books, movies and snacks and it opened as an adult store.

I personally wouldn’t want a shop selling XXX opening up down the street from my house, in part because too many of these stores have overly sexually explicit pictures on the outside as advertising. My kids don’t need to see that. No kids need to see it.

However, I think he’s handling this in the wrong fashion. So…live in Indiana? Want to voice your opinions over this to Mr. Goodin? Here’s his email:

h66@in.gov

If you do write him, I’d recommend you do it in a non-rant fashion. He’s probably convinced he’s right and even though most of us probably disagree, rants aren’t the way to change his mind or see a different point of view.