Consenting Adults In Private Places
The ABC Special with John Stossel was GREAT!
About consenting adults in private places. But Police are raiding, invading, arresting and jailing for crimes that don't hurt anyone.
It's Uncle Sam or the religious right playing parent, telling you what is right and wrong, what your morals should be. Is that really what America is about?
Shows the politician who fights to keep gay sex a crime, while he is breaking the adultery laws himself.
This was a provocative hour meant to challenge some of the laws that try and control victimless behavior.
Peter McWilliams author of "Ain't Nobody's Business If you Do - The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country"; (Free at http://www.consenting.org) says "Civilized society is, you do what you want. I do what I want. I will not harm you or your property. You don't harm me or my property." The government does not need to come and tell adults, "There, little children. We'll take care of you. Just do what we say."
The silliness of the conservative Christian position on sex was shown by Mitchell Kaye, Georgia State Representative who said. "Through some of these acts, you can't propagate the species. They're not morally correct. They say you can't legalize morality, but that's what we do as a legislature every single day - setting curfews for our children, requiring people to wear seat belts, speeding laws, other laws. We are legislating morality."
John Stossel wisely replied:
"Of course, laws about children and speeding are different. Children are not consenting adults, and speeders often hurt other people. But the Shahars (lesbian couple) are consenting adults in the privacy of their own home."
One of the lesbians wisely said: "If you don't like it, don't do it. But don't tell me not to do it."
Peter McWilliams said: "The problem comes when people come in and say, 'God doesn't want you to do that, and besides that, I think it's a bad idea, and it makes me uncomfortable. So we're going to put you in jail for your own protection.'"
John Stossel said, "Which is what we do with prostitutes."
Sydney Biddle Barrows (The Mayflower Madam) says: "There are a lot of women out there who simply do not feel that it is immoral to sleep with a man for money. And who are we to criminalize their doing something that is OK with them? What are we really protecting people against? We're protecting women from making a living and we're protecting men from spending their money as they please. I don't think anyone needs to be protected from that."
Prostitute Heather Smith said: "It's legal for two men to go into a boxing ring and beat each other bloody for money, but it's not legal for me to go in and give someone sexual pleasure for money. What kind of sense does that make?"
Regarding police using female decoys to trap Johns, Peter McWilliams said "The police, who should be out there catching real criminals - the murders and the rapists and the robbers - they're out there pretending to be prostitutes, trying to catch people who just happen to be sexually turned on. It's shameful what we're doing in the name or morality."
Other issues were discussed including pornography and drugs.
John Stossels final close: "Freedom is what America's suppose to be about. Maybe we should rethink the rules. Why not just allow consenting adults to do anything that's peaceful?...Good night, and thanks for watching our program, which really is about liberty."
The complete transcript for the show is available on-line at:
http://www.abcnews.com/onair/abcnewsspecials/transcripts/specials_stossel980526_trans.html
Also a RealVideo version can be heard from it's listing at:
http://www.abcnews.com/onair/specials/index.html. (LINK NOW BROKEN) But have to have RealVideo player on your computer (they provide a link to download it)
SO nice of ABC News to make their programs available like this!
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