While we were all talking about property taxes and gay marriage and illegal immigration, the Legislature snuck in a new bill (it escaped my attention, anyway) requring sellers of adult materials to register with the state. The exact effect of the law is being debated. Crtitics say it is too broad and covers anyone that has even one book about sex on the shelves, even if it deals with sex education. Supporters say bookstores are too worried about nothing, since the law grandfathers everyone selling sexual material before June 30. I was struck by this:
The bill was aimed specifically at helping counties that do not have zoning ordinances track businesses selling sexually explicit material, including videos, magazines and books, said Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, who was a co-sponsor of the legislation.
Why do those counties need "help"? If they want to pass such ordinances, they can, and current U.S. Supreme Court guidelines even call for a local definition of what is allowed and what is not.
