This newsletter is sent free of charge to FSC members and supporters. For personal contact, call 1-800-476-7813.

Free Speech X-Press
Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Industry

Vol. VI, No. 30, June 18, 2004 -- A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition
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Free Speech X-press is researched and edited by Kat Sunlove and Layne Winklebleck.
Copyright 2004 Free Speech Coalition. Permission to reprint granted to FSC members; please give credit.
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VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FSC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com
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SAVE THE DATE! NIGHT OF THE STARS - JULY 24
Last minute notice: The deadline is today (Friday) at 4 for your organization to be included in The Night Of The Stars Program. However, the program is almost completely full, so only the first to call can be sure to get a spot. The best tables are also filling fast, although there are some good ones left. But don’t delay: E-mail us at FSC@freespeechcoalition.com or call 866-FSC-9373 for information.

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EROTICA LA IS THIS WEEKEND: JUNE 18-20
Since Erotica LA generously donates a portion of its proceeds to FSC, we urge you to attend. Erotica LA has been the leading erotic and sensual entertainment show in the country. With over 150,000 square feet of space, this annual consumer exposition showcases over 220 companies in the romantic and erotic entertainment marketplaces.

Shop for erotic novelties, movies, clothing, romantic items, artwork, and much more! The variety of merchants, live stage and fashion shows, educational seminars and a erotic museum make the Erotica Los Angeles show the premier erotic event of the year! Be sure to stop by the FSC booth (#102). We will be registering voters with the help of adult video stars Shayla LaVeaux, Adam Glasser (Seymore Butts), Heather Dupree and others. To exhibit or attend Erotica Los Angeles visit www.Erotica-LA.com!

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DEAL IN MAJOR TAX, OBSCENITY CASE
AUSTIN, TX A federal tax evasion and obscenity case against adult video chain owner John K. Coil and his son has ended in a plea bargain, with the Coils admitting having skirted millions of dollars in taxes and transporting obscene materials. Five others, including Coil’s wife and daughter, have pleaded guilty to tax fraud or evasion charges. John K. Coil faces the most severe sentence, up to 10 years in prison.

The plea negotiation includes a substantial dismantling of the adult empire that Coil had built throughout the Southwest over three decades. After initially seeking to seize 58 Coil-owned properties in seven states ­ worth about $9.7 million ­ the government agreed to only confiscate 45 Texas properties, including houses, offices and at least two dozen adult video stores.

According to court documents, Coil was accused of holding corporations in various names to hide income and avoid paying taxes.
From The Associated Press, 6/12/04
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-porn-mogul
,0,2752985.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
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MORE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SABER RATTLING
WASHINGTON, DC -- Attorney General John Ashcroft, at a joint news conference with Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has announced tougher 2257 records inspections for the adult entertainment industry to ensure that no minors are being used in sexually explicit films, books, magazines and Web sites.

The Justice Department has done no records inspections over the past 12 years, though rules authorizing them have been on the books.

Ashcroft proposed tightening the list of acceptable forms of identification under 2257, scrapping college IDs and selective service cards. He also proposed that forms of identification be accessible to government agencies to ensure they are legitimate, although it is unclear exactly what he meant by that. The new proposals will be finalized after a public comment period.
From Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press, 6/14/04
http://www.newsobserver.com/24hour/politics/story/1435260p-8780380c.html
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ADULT STORE OWNER - 1, CITY CENSORS - 0
SUFFOLK, VA Gregory A. Sakas will receive the permit needed to open his adult book and novelty store at a shopping center here. The city initially blocked Sakas on the grounds that adult businesses were not addressed by the Unified Development Ordinance. Sakas sued, and in May a federal judge found that the city had infringed on Sakas' right to free speech and ordered an injunction to let him open the store. The judge made it clear that the city would likely lose if Sakas' case went to trial.

“The Constitution protects not just political and ideological speech but also sexual expression which is indecent but not obscene," Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr wrote.
From John-Henry Doucette, The Virginian-Pilot, 6/15/04
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=71697&ran=133428
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LOU SIRKIN VERSUS THE MILLER STANDARD
GRAY, KY First Amendment Attorney H. Louis Sirkin of Cincinnati is seeking to have charges dismissed against the owner and an employee of Dreamworld, an adult store here. The pair were arrested four days after the new store opened, charged with violating the state law against distributing obscene matter, a misdemeanor.

With explicit sexual material available on television and the Internet, defining contemporary community standards, under the Miller standard for obscenity as defined by the Supreme Court, has gotten more complex. Sirkin said his challenge to the charges against Dreamworld owner Jeree Mills and employee Belinda K. Brown will cite Lawrence v Texas, a decision from last year in which the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law against homosexual sodomy. The opinion is relevant because it affirmed a right to sexual privacy in one’s home, Sirkin said. That right encompasses a right to buy and sell materials such as those at Dreamworld, he argued.
From The Associated Press, 6/15/04
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/06/15/loc_loc2porn.html
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E-MAIL REGISTRY IDEA TURNED DOWN
WASHINGTON, DC The Federal Trade Commission has rejected the idea of a “do not e-mail list" modeled after the popular “do not call list" for unwanted telemarketing calls. Included in the Can-Spam act, which took effect January 1, was a provision that the FTC was to report back to Congress on the feasibility of the e-mail scheme. In their report, the FTC said that a “do not e-mail list" would not be effective and might even help spammers.

Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) was critical of the commission’s report.

"No one says this is a cure-all," Mr. Schumer said. “This is the best thing we have and they ought to try it."
From Saul Hansell, The New York Times, 6/16/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/technology/16spam.html?hp
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DECISION DEFERRED
WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Supreme Court has ducked having to rule on the highly-charged issue of whether having public school students pledge allegiance to a nation "under God" violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom without government involvement. Five justices held that Sacramento atheist Dr. Michael Newdow lacked proper legal standing to bring the case. Newdow shared physical custody of his daughter with her mother, but a court order granted the mother exclusive legal custody including the right to represent her legal interests and make education and welfare decisions.
From Josh Richman, The Oakland Tribune, 6/15/04
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2213721,00.html
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PORN PAYS OFF FOR PREGNANT PANDA
BEIJING, CHINA -- Four-year-old panda bear Hua Mei, whose name means China-America, is pregnant, according to veterinarians at the Wolong panda center in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. Hua Mei, who was born at the San Diego Zoo to a pair of pandas on loan from China, was sent back China in hopes of breeding more of the endangered animals.

Because zoo-born pandas have limited sexual knowledge, Hua Mei was shown mating videos. The idea is to encourage inexperienced pandas to produce offspring by showing them images of the reproduction act. Looks like it worked. Hua Mei is expecting in September.
From United Press International, 6/17/04
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040617-124934-7693r.htm
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INCIDENT PITS LIBRARY AGAINST COPS
NAPERVILLE, IL A controversy has developed here because librarians at the Nichols Library forced police to get a court order before they would disclose the name of a patron who had logged on to an adult entertainment Website. The incident began when three teenage boys told library employees that a man in the computer lab was viewing pornography on the Internet. Library officials confronted the man and he left. After he was gone, the officials called police and reported that the boys had seen the man fondle himself beneath his clothes. Police were surprised when the library refused to give them the patron's name without a court order.

Recent attention has focused on the Patriot Act, but the Patriot Act does not apply to local police departments. Local police must contend with state laws, which are unambiguous in Illinois. In this state a library cannot release information about patrons or the material they view without a court order.
From James Kimberly, The Chicago Tribune, 6/11/04
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0406110160
jun11,1,3755970.story?coll=chi-news-hed
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UpComing Events

JUN 18-20 Erotica L.A., Los Angeles, CA http://www.erotica-la.com/

JUL 7-11 -- Lifestyles West, Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas, http://lifestyles-convention.com/

JUL 14 - 16 VSDA’s Home Entertainment 2004, Venetian Hotel Casino, Las Vegas,
www.homeentertainmentevents.com

JUL 24 Night of the Stars Sheraton Universal Hotel Los Angeles, CA - 866-FSC-9373

JUL 25 FSC’s Bob Tremont Memorial Golf Tournament, Sylmar, CA, 818-348-9373

JUL 26-28 ANME, Sheraton Universal Hotel, Los Angeles, CA - 818-772-0100

AUG 8, 2004 - Fit For a King, John C. Holmes 60th Birthday -- Hollywood, CA (818) 501-6139

AUG 13-15, 2004 Internext -- Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida

www.Internext-expo.com

AUG 29-SEPT 4, 2004 -- Gentlemen’s Club Owners Expo and Exotic Dancer Fan Fair, Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV - www.ExoticDancer.com.
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Subscriptions to Free Speech X-Press are FREE to FSC members. Contact us at Sunlove@direcway.com or 800-476-7813.

Kat Sunlove
Legislative Affairs Director
Free Speech Coalition
P.O. Box 907
Cool, CA 95614
530-888-1554