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. 32, July 2, 2004 -- A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition
__________________________________________________________
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.
__________________________________________________________
VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FSC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com
__________________________________________________________

SAVE THE DATE! NIGHT OF THE STARS - JULY 24
What if we gave a party and everybody came? This year’s Night of the Stars, “A Fantasy Ball," is shaping up to be just that, a great big party with the “kings and queens of adult entertainment " in attendance.
Juli Ashton, our Mistress of Ceremonies, has been joined by Adam Glasser as Master of Ceremonies for the festivities. Our honorees include some of the biggest names in the industry, as well as rap pioneer Luther "Luke" Campbell, who will receive a Celebrity Freedom Fighter award for his free speech battles.

Good tables and even sponsor banners, themed to the Renaissance court environment, are still available but time is running short, so don’t wait. E-mail us TODAY at FSC@freespeechcoalition.com or call 866-FSC-9373 and Neva will be happy to take your reservations. We hope to see you there!
__________________________________________________________

INTERNET PROTECTION ACT STILL ON HOLD
WASHINGTON, DC ЃEThe Supreme Court, voting 5-4 in a case watched closely by the online adult industry, has left standing the injunction against enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), while at the same time keeping open the possibility that COPA might ultimately be upheld. COPA would impose criminal penalties for commercial Internet sites that contain “harmful matter," unless credit cards or other age verification methods are used. Justice Kennedy, writing for a narrow majority, said the government must show why the voluntary use of filters to screen out material unsuitable for children would not work as well as COPA.

Not only are filters less restrictive, but they “also may well be more effective," Kennedy said, because they can block pornography from anywhere in the world while COPA applies only to pornography posted on the Web from within the United States. The opinion, which was joined by justices Stevens, Souter, Thomas (!) and Ginsburg, suggested strongly that the government would not be able to meet the test of showing why filters were not a better option.

Under First Amendment precedents, government-imposed restrictions must go no further than necessary to accomplish a “compelling government interest," in this instance, protecting children from harmful material on the Internet. The government must show that it is using the “least restrictive means" to achieve its goal.
From Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times, 6/30/04
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-ascotus30jun30,0,4027940.story?

coll=sfla-news-nationworld
__________________________________________________________

BIG WIN FOR THE ACLU AND FREE SPEECH
WASHINGTON, DC -- The ACLU’s Ann Beeson, who has spearheaded legal challenges against COPA (above story) for the past six years, called the ruling a clear win for free-speech rights on the Internet.

"The status quo is maintained, but that is a huge victory," said Beeson, associate legal director for the ACLU’s national office. “Had the Supreme Court not upheld the appeals court decision, it would have been a crime today to display material on the Internet that is freely available on cable television and in R-rated movies."

Beeson said she now plans to ask the Department of Justice to agree to drop the case, given what she described as the court’s “very strong indication" that the law violates the First Amendment.
From Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com, 6/29/04
http://news.com.com/Supreme+Court+keeps+Net+porn+law+on+ice/

2100-1028_3-5251475.html?tag=nefd.lede
__________________________________________________________

PROPOSED NEW 2257 REGULATIONS POSTED
WASHINGTON, DC -New record-keeping requirements, under the never actually enforced provisions of 18 USC 2257, have now been published in the Federal Register at http://www.regulations.gov/freddocs/04-13792.htm.

The new regulations are set to take effect on August 24, after a period of public response and possible (but doubtful) changes. According to the government the new requirements do not actually change the law, but just clarify what the exact standards are and how it will be enforced. In fact, there do seem to be some new elements in it.

Under the new rules, the records for every performer who works for a company must be indexed alphabetically by the performer’s legal name; and every time that same performer works for the company again, all of that performer’s previous records with the company (for materials produced after the implementation of these new rules) must be updated with the name of the new materials.

In addition, beginning with the new regulations, all records will be required to be cross-referenced by all names ever used by each performer, as well as by title, number or “similar identifier" of each “book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, computer-generated image, digital image, picture or other matter." Webmasters note: all URL’s for that performer must be listed and cross-referenced.

There’s more. See Mark Kernes' piece at AVN.Com and watch for Clyde DeWitt’s commentary on the proposed regulations, which is scheduled to appear in the August issue of AVN Online.
From Mark Kernes, AVN.com, 7/1/04
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action=

View_Article&Content_ID=107185
__________________________________________________________

ADULT NOVELTIES TRIAL MOVES FORWARD
ABILENE, KS -First Amendment attorneys Michael Murray and Robert Littrell have entered not guilty pleas to 29 counts of promoting obscenity for Lion’s Den Adult Superstore here. All counts are for selling adult novelties, most of which are commonly found in adult stores across the country.

The case is highly politicized, with the indictments coming from a grand jury impaneled after Citizens for Strengthening Community Virtues (aided by the American Family Association) gathered enough voter signatures to force a summons.

It is possible that some people who signed the petition ended up on the grand jury, which calls into question whether the grand jury was fair and impartial. The defense attorneys are investigating.
From Scott Ross, Adult Video News, 7/1/04
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action

=View_Article&Content_ID=107196
__________________________________________________________

SPAMMER LOSES LONG LEGAL BATTLE
WASHINGTON STATE -After a six-year legal battle, the Washington Court of Appeals has declared Washington’s honesty-in-spam law valid, and ordered Oregon spammer Jason Heckel to pay a $2,000 fine, plus $96,197 in legal costs. The unanimous, three-judge ruling said Washington’s law did not violate freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. Commercial speech is protected only when it is truthful. Washington’s law forbids commercial e-mails with misleading subject lines and false origins.

Heckel claimed he was immune from Washington’s law unless he knowingly sent e-mails to people here. His argument was that he didn’t know if any particular e-mail was going here, so the law didn’t apply to him. But Judge Faye Kennedy, who wrote the opinion, said Heckel’s reasoning was absurd. He was sending out 100,000 to 1 million e-mails a week, so of course some of them would end up here.
From the Seattle Times, 7/1/04
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2001969216_spamed01.html
__________________________________________________________

THE RETURN OF HOWARD STERN
RADIO WAVES, USA -Howard Stern, who was axed from five U.S. cities by media giant Clear Channel Communications (Rochester, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Pittsburgh) will soon return to the air in the five cities, at stations owned by Infinity Broadcasting. His show will also open in several new locations including Houston, Austin and Tampa.

Stern was dropped by Clear Channel for indecency on air earlier this year after a sexually explicit interview. However, despite being dropped by some stations, Stern’s listening figures increased earlier this year.
He could be very competitive for radio listeners in the cities where he was replaced.

“They don’t want me back on in these markets because I’ll quickly rise to No. 1 in every one of them," said Stern, referring to his former employers at Clear Channel.
From BBC News, 7/1/04
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3855611.stm
__________________________________________________________

COP-SHOOTER VIDEO GAME TRIAL
WASHINGTON STATE -Oral arguments were heard here recently in a suit brought against the state of Washington by the Video Software Dealers Association, the Interactive Digital Software Association, Hollywood Entertainment and others, challenging the state’s Video Game Violence Law.

The law, which imposes as much as a $500 fine on those who rent or sell video games to minors (in which players can kill or wound law enforcement officers) never went into effect. It was enjoined pending the outcome of this lawsuit..

Attorneys for the video game industry argue that the law violates the First Amendment.
“Violent speech has been given full protection of the Constitution, whether it is in a video game or on a TV show," said video game industry attorney Paul Smith. “In our marketplace of ideas, you don’t regulate speech, you regulate behavior."

Smith discounted academic studies presented by the defense that showed a connection between violent behavior and video games, saying the research is sparse and some studies actually indicate the opposite effect.
From John Cook, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/25/04
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/179437_violentvideo25.html
__________________________________________________________

DIVERSITY TO BE A PART OF CITY PARADES
HONOLULU, HI -- Parades and other events sponsored or co-sponsored by the city will be open to all as a result of a settlement between the city and the ACLU. The ACLU said the city used public money and other resources to promote the evangelical beliefs of the Hawaii Christian Coalition during the 2003 Family Day Parade, which barred several gay and lesbian groups.

“This global settlement reaffirms basic constitutional principles -- the government cannot censor speech or exclude people from public events simply because officials do not agree with the participants" sexual orientation, gender identity or their message," said Lois Perrin, legal director of the ACLU’s Hawaii office.

City Deputy Corporation Counsel Greg Swartz said the City Council must approve the new rules and sign off on the payment legal fees and court costs to the ACLU, but he does not expect the council to object to the new parade rules.
From David Waite, Honolulu Advertiser, 6/24/04
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Jun/24/ln/ln15a.html
__________________________________________________________

UpComing Events

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 31-SEPT 2, 2004 -- Gentlemen’s Club Owners Expo and Exotic Dancer Fan Fair, Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV - www.ExoticDancer.com.
__________________________________________________________

Subscriptions to Free Speech X-Press are FREE to FSC members. Contact us at Sunlove@direcway.com or 800-476-7813.