December 29, 2007 | Sex & Society

Porn chill in Ohio

Any video store in Ohio selling adult DVDs will have good reason to shut down in the New Year when the state starts enforcing a law that will see the names of anyone convicted of  pandering obscenity added to the state registry of sex offenders -- for 15 years. We're not talking about child porn here: "pandering obscenity" is defined as "creating, advertising, selling, delivering or displaying an obscene work," and "obscene" is often interpreted by states to include video of adults having consensual sex.  

Right now the maximum punishment for "pandering obscenity" in Ohio is one year in prison. Registration on the sex offenders list multiplies the punishment manifold. Under the new law, if someone sells or rents a DVD that has a scene of two adults having sex in a way that the state deems as "obscene," the convicted person is lumped in with sex offenders who've been found guilty of date rape, having sex with someone who is incapable of giving consent, softcore child porn, or sexually enticing or stalking a child. [more]

Convicts must live at least 1,000 feet from where children go to school or day-care. The registrants address, DNA info,  DNA, fingerprints, criminal history, Social Security number, driver's license, vehicle ownership, school attendance, email addresses, business and occupational licenses, a description of their offense and a photograph.  The county sheriff is required to send notice of a registrant's address to all apartment house managers and condo owners associations within 1,000 feet of that address, to any school principal, day-care center administrator and youth organization leader within the county, and to any resident who shares a common hallway with the registrant.

Does the punishment fit the crime of selling a nasty DVD? We'd say it's just a tad much. Will the law withstand a Constitutional challenge? Probably not. But in the meantime, purveyors of porn in the state of Ohio have been put on notice that they are not welcome.