HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Alabama law enforcement officials are set to crack down on shops selling sex toys after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a state ban.
Provisions of Alabama’s 1998 Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act prohibit distribution or production of “any device designed or marketed as useful for the stimulation of human genital organs,” the Huntsville (Ala.) Times reported Tuesday. Although possession of sex toys isn't a crime, violators of the law face up to a year in jail and a maximum $10,000 fine,
State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, the bill’s sponsor, said the 14-page measure was originally intended to end nude dancing in parts of Madison County and not ban sex toys.
However, a spokesman for Alabama Attorney General Troy King said the office would go to federal court seeking to end an injunction that blocked enforcement of the law.
Opponents of the ban vowed to file another challenge to the law on free speech grounds.
The newspaper said Georgia, Texas, Nebraska, Virginia, Mississippi and Louisiana all have similar laws on the sale of sex devices.
