Posted on 08/27/2009 11:30:01 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Retailers who sell children violent or pornographic videos will be immune from prosecution for the next three months after the discovery of a government blunder 25 years ago.
Britain should have notified the European Commission of the existence of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (VRA) — which regulated the industry — but failed to do so.
“Unfortunately, discovery of this omission means that, a quarter of a century later, VRA is no longer enforceable against individuals in UK courts,” said Barbara Follett, minister for culture and tourism.
Follett said people currently being prosecuted under the act would not be convicted until a new act can take legal effect in three months, the period required for consultation with other EU member states. In the interim, people will be able to sell pornographic and violent videos to children under the age of 18 without fear of prosecution.
However anyone previously convicted under the act will not be able to appeal their case. The British Video Association asked its members to comply with the provisions on a voluntary basis.
This is the American Library Association’s stance as well. They hold that there is no such thing as “age appropriate material”. That said they also believe that all content (that passes their political litmus test) should have shelf space in the library.
I’ve never heard of a library official or staffer being prosecuted for corrupting a minor for providing access to adults only materials.
The ALA’s position is that if you want to limit the access of your child (say no access to R, NC-17, X and yes there are X “art films” in some library collections, or unrated videos, no Robert Crumb underground comix, no Joy Of Sex, no...) then YOU should not permit your child to have a library card and should restrict his or her access to the library itself (since items do not need to be checked out in order to be accessed and a card is only needed to remove an item).
The ALA’s stance is don’t let your child go to the library unescorted until age 18.
Their position on giving such materials to minors would not hold to any retailer.
Even if some “questionable” material did get through to kids, theaters won’t sell tickets to R rated movies to minors (typically they buy another ticket and try to sneak over), video stores typically won’t rent R or “the unrated version” of films to minors, and stores won’t sell Playboy or “Adults Only” tagged comix to kids. The public library will.
What makes you think that the (ongoing) UK stupidity can be blamed on the rest of Europe? (Ahem, the UK being somewhat of a fringe EU member anyway.)
I am sure it was all an accident. This explains why the UN wants the world’s adults to teach school children to diddle with themselves beginning at age five.
Not sure how the pervs have done it, but they have managed to get themselves, officially, into the pants of kids.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.