"They are going to have to pry this vibrator from my cold, dead hand."

Tuesday October 2, 2007

So says sex toy retailer and civil rights defender Sheri Williams, whose nine year court battle was ended on Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear her challenge. AP reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to Alabama's ban on the sale of sex toys, ending a nine-year legal battle and sending a warning to store owners to clean off their shelves.
An adult-store owner had asked the justices to throw out the law as an unconstitutional intrusion into the privacy of the bedroom. But the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, leaving intact a lower court ruling that upheld the law.
The law does not ban the possession of sex toys, and it doesn't regulate other items, including condoms or virility drugs. Residents may legally purchase sex toys out of state for use in Alabama, or they may buy sexual devices in Alabama that have a "bona fide medical" purpose.

Williams says she plans to continue her fight, on First Amendment free speech grounds, and anticipates that the next big question for retailers is what constitutes a "medical purpose".