mdoneil writes “A fine upstanding citizen was charged with committing a lewd act in the public library while viewing online pornography. The man charged is a frequent library patron, having been warned twice previously not to expose and manipulate his genitals in the library.
The library director was quite shocked however not too shocked to note that it is, in her opinion, a pervert’s First Amendment right to look at pornography at public computers in the library. It seems to me that is also the right of anyone who sees that -including librarians- to scream as loudly as possible: “Put your penis away you freak.” I have found that very effective in detering repeat behavior of that type.
N.B. Yet another newspaper website that fails to identify its location. Sure Hamburg, we all know there are no other towns named Hamburg in the US.”
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A quick pass through the Michigan Penal (HA! Man, I never get tired of that) Code reveals that looking at pornography on a computer at a library is not illegal. The MPC also prohibits people from being prosecuted for what it calls “constitutionally protected behavior.”
I leave it up to you to decide whether the porn-looking is protected behavior. My point is that the director of the library may merely following the letter of the law or guarding against a lawsuit.
Second, why don’t libraries ban more people more quickly? Why give a guy touching himself a second chance? Why not have a one strike and you’re out rule for sexually inappropriate behavior? Have the cops issue a trespass citation and arrest the guy if he comes back.
Makes no damn sense. Why can’t some of these people be vicious in defense of intellectual freedom and vicious in the treatment of perverts?
You can be a bleeding-heart, 1st amendment liberal librarian and be a heartless son-of-a-bitch.
‘Pervert of the Day’?
Can we give these posts the tag, ‘Pervert of the Day’? I’m getting to think all people use libraries for is to fulfill their sexual fantasies.
You can’t believe how disappointed I am when I walk into my local library and it’s not a scene straight out of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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It is not a constitutional right to view porn in a public library. Librarians who say that should be removed from their positions as soon as possible before harm comes, so to speak, to any patron or staff member.
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You’re lucky you post anonymously. The ALA would kick you out for saying that. Heck they are probably tracing your IP address now.