“Though I am willing to apologize for this particular art book getting in the hands that found it offensive, I will adamantly agree that the book is not ‘harmful to children’ or ‘obscene.’ In my opinion, this book is no more offensive then viewing the beautiful paintings of the Sistine Chapel or reading one of the best selling books with stories of sex, lust and nudity known as the Bible.”
“The first sentence in the comic book reads: ‘Brace yourself for a sex and absinthe fueled journey into one of the most exciting period in modern history.’ That’s not appropriate for a nine year old kid. I think that’s a no-brainer.”
Gordon Lee is a comic book retailer in Georgia. He is currently facing two misdemeanor counts of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material, each carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines. The charges stem from a Halloween 2004 incident in which Lee handed out an anthology comic featuring both female and male full frontal nudity to children.
He doesn’t appear to believe he did anything wrong. He insists that the book is not obscene or harmful to a minor. Though I don’t know if it’s actually obscene, I have no doubt that its not suitable for children. I disagree with Lee when he states that it is similar to the beautiful paintings of the Sistine Chapel.
Has he ever seen the Sistine Chapel?
The book Lee gave the kids (ages 6 & 9) not only shows full frontal nudity, it contains a reference to masturbation. In one panel, it even shows what appears to be an erect penis. There seems to be a difference of opinion whether the penis is actually erect or not. I would argue that if the issue must be debated, the book is not suitable for a child.
Compounding the problem for Lee is that he was convicted of selling pornography in 1993. I would think someone who had been convicted of selling pornography once before would be hyper-vigilant in not doing things like accidentally giving free comics that feature dick pictures to kids.
I honestly don’t understand just how his lawyers expect to defend his innocence in this case. The jury won’t be deciding if the law is valid or not, they will be deciding if Lee broke that law or not. The jury has to consider only the facts of the case, not the merits of the law. Arguing the merits of the law is something that should be brought up in the appeals, not the actual criminal case in front of the Georgia jury.
Do they honestly think a southern jury will have a hard time with a law that prohibits distributing porn to children?
Lee can claim that the comic was no more obscene then the Sistine Chapel or the Bible. The problem is the jury will be looking at the actual book Lee gave the two kids. I doubt many of them will see similarities to the Sistine Chapel or the Bible. I think he is going to have a hard time finding a sympathetic jury in northern Georgia. Especially when he seems to feel he did nothing wrong.
It would be one thing if Lee admitted it was a bone head mistake and apologized for his mistake. He’s not really doing that.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has already spent $80,000 on this case and expects to pay even more. They are urgently trying to raise more money. Like a lot of comic book nerds, I’ve donated money to them in the past. I don’t think I will be doing so again. Not this time.
[...] discussion over on the Newsarama forum concerning the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and the Gordon Lee case. And when I refer to it as being lively, I of course mean that the discussion often breaks [...]
I’m sorry, I don’t buy this whole “harmful to children” routine. If he had handed out issues of Batman with numerous acts of violence, no one would have said a word. Show a nude Picasso though? OMG we must stop this monster!
If my kid came home with this, and I didn’t think it was appropriate, I’d likelytake it from them, and go down to the guy and recommend he not pass them out for Halloween. If he was a jerk, I just wouldn’t let my kid trick or treat there. Too easy.
I’m sorry, I don’t buy this whole “harmful to children” routine. If he had handed out issues of Batman with numerous acts of violence, no one would have said a word. Show a nude Picasso though? OMG we must stop this monster!
If my kid came home with this, and I didn’t think it was appropriate, I’d likelytake it from them, and go down to the guy and recommend he not pass them out for Halloween. If he was a jerk, I just wouldn’t let my kid trick or treat there. Too easy.
This knee-jerk crap is the reason I moved out of Georgia the moment my legs and the law would allow.
[...] To read about the specifics of the case, you can go here. [...]