August, 1997
Outlines Banner

Order in the Court

by Andrew Davis

In the midst of Gay and Lesbian Pride festivities, Brad and Gwyneth's break-up, and Mike Tyson's disgusting display that he's not a vegetarian, another prominent event occurred - one that affects the life of every person who uses the Internet. In a major free-speech ruling, the Supreme Court stated in the case of Reno v. ACLU that Congress violated the First Amendment when it passed a law making it a crime to have indecent material available to children on the Internet (otherwise known as the Communications Decency Act).

By doing this, the Court essentially welcomed the Net into the ranks of communications media given a lot of protection from government regulation by the First Amendment (like newspapers and radio).

In Justice John Paul Stevens' majority opinion, he stated that "[i]t is true that we have repeatedly recognized the governmental interest in protecting children from harmful materials. But that interest does not justify an unnecessarily broad suppression of speech addressed to adults. As we have explained, the government may not reduce the adult population to only what is fit for children." In other words, the Court found the Act just a tad overbroad.

The Supreme Court adopted the view of Net supporters that there is no possible way to screen material from children without censoring it at the source. The justices also concurred that it's unlikely a Net user would stumble on indecent material accidentally.

Opponents of the law also argued that the Communications Decency Act would restrict access to discussion of such issues as safe sex and homosexuality.

(Personally, I agree, the word "decency" alone brings up thoughts of a totally G-rated Internet. We would be discussing Barney and biscuits but not bondage.) However, supporters of the law said that a ruling against the Act would deprive children of protection of material that could be harmful to their psychological well-being. (Or would that be to the conservatives' well-being?)

Supporters of the law now say that they will try to draft a new measure that will pass constitutional standards. However, that effort probably will not succeed because of the Net's new standing as a First Amendment equal to other forms of media. Besides, there are several parental control software items out there, including Net Nanny and Cyber Patrol. Their mere presence means less pressure for government action.

In response to the decision, the Queer Resources Directory released a statement:

"As a plaintiff in the case, the QRD is very happy with [the] ruling. Throughout history gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people have been persecuted by people who have either intentionally or unintentionally been mis-educated to believe that people with different sexual orientations or gender identity are less than human and should be treated with disrespect and disgust.

"One of the main missions of the Queer Resources Directory is to act as a source of accurate information about gay/lesbian/ bisexual/transgendered people so that people everywhere can combat the fear and hate of the ignorant with factual data. If the Communications Decency Act had been upheld, homophobic officials in any conservative jurisdiction could try and use it to file charges against the QRD in order to prevent our mission of eliminating homophobia through education."

Here's to progress.

Andrew's Picks

1. Who could possibly forget those gorgeous bodies in those 2(x)ist Underwear ads? Well, now there's a web site (http://www.2xist.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi) that has those torsos in boxers, briefs, and shirts. Oh yeah; you can also order those items as well as posters.

2. Wanna go where few queers have gone before? Then try the Gay & Lesbian Star Trek Home Page (http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek). Lesbigay Trek fans (and I'm resisting the urge to call them Trekkies) can share insights, reviews, and stories.

3. Big Chicks has a long-standing reputation as one of the friendliest neighborhood watering holes in this city. Now, there's a site (http://www.bigchicks.com) that showcases what this place has to offer. You can find out about specials and events; you can even sign up to be on their e-mail list.

4. Check out bit.listserv.gaynet. It's an expansive newsgroup that includes items discussing everything from gay Holocaust survivors to alerts from GLAAD.

5. File this one under "You've Got to Be Kidding": There's actually a Codpiece International Home Page (http://www.teleport.com/~codpiece/codpiece.shtml). Once you're inside the codpiece (menu, that is), you can find out exactly what one is and even read about the Codpiece Resurrection Society. (I wonder if George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell (Batman and Robin) are members?)

6. Have you ever seen an episode of, say, All My Children and thought you could write that stuff? Dyke Street (http://www.demon.co.uk/world/ukgay/ukg000f.html) is a cyber-soap that encourages readers to suggest new characters and plotlines. (I was going to suggest an alien kidnapping but that's SO overdone!)

Don't forget - you can contact me at gemini1@nwu.edu.

Send us your feedback!

Site development donated by Benchmark Online Productions.
Web space provided by SUBA.