Friday, February 24, 2012

Porn in or out of TN

Two stories here that I'll post without comment.  I alternate from being speechless to having too much to say about them.  Whew!!  As if we're not in the news enough with the "Don't Say Gay" proposed bill and that one that didn't pass about guns in bars, here we go again!!  I'm going to copy and paste for obvious reasons.  Here is the link if you want to watch the video. 
'Porn Tax’ Proposed By Tennessee Representative
By Chris Cannon

 NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A state lawmaker from Rutherford County has proposed a tax that could increase state revenue by $55 million. Representative Joe Carr of Lascassas said taxing adult businesses, and the products they sell, is a way to help all Tennesseans.

"If we can't outlaw it, and the Supreme Court says we cannot, then what we'll do is put a 25% tax on adult material, hard core pornography," Representative Carr said.  Carr claims his proposal is about more than just money. He said his real concern is about saving marriages. He said that Tennessee has one of the highest divorce rates and he's hoping his proposal will change that.

According to the bill he filed, the adult entertainment industry generates nearly $222 million a year in Tennessee.  A 25 % sales tax would be applied to adult movies, books or admission to any adult entertainment venue. It would also apply to escort services and cabarets.

"Any types of items where you're required to be 18 years of age, or older to either go into those establishments, or buy those materials," according to Carr.

Carr has proposed to use the money collected from the adult entertainment tax to lower, or eliminate, the sales tax on food.

Constitutional experts think the proposed bill most likely violates the First Amendment.  "To tax something based on its First Amendment content would clearly be unconstitutional in my view," said attorney David Raybin.

According to Raybin states have the legal right to impose so-called sin taxes on liquor and tobacco products.  "Those are commercial products and do not have any First Amendment aspects to it. Pornography, although it may be offensive to some people is protected under the first amendment," Raybin explained.  He said if the proposed bill became law, it would be immediately challenged in court.

Representative Carr does not feel his proposed bill violates the First Amendment. In fact, he believes the bill will receive bi-partisan support in the legislature.  "Liberal democrats are always looking for places to increase revenue. Conservative republicans are always looking for things that can support family values," Carr explained.

Carr said the bill still has to be revised before it makes its way through the legislative process.
 Then there is this:
Tennessee High School Students Make Porn Film Between Classes

 A group of Tennessee high school students are in hot water for trying to make a steamy porn movie between classes.

Four female and two male students were punished after a drama teacher caught them filming the flick in a Union County High School classroom.

Wayne Goforth, curriculum coordinator for the school district, told WATE-TV in Knoxville that the female students had stripped down to their underwear for the boys who were acting as the cameraman and emcee.

Click here for WATE-TV.

The drama teacher assigned to the classroom was on hall-monitoring duty, Goforth said. "Personally I think students see too much on TV," Goforth told the station. "They like to mimic what they see, and if they're watching that sort of thing, of course they're going to copy that."

The students were suspended for various amounts of time, with two students being suspended for at least three days, the station said.

"For the most part, we have excellent students at Union County High School, and it is a learning experience," Goforth said. "And the behavior and discipline is just part of their learning experience."

Some of the students are in special education, he told the station.

School authorities confiscated the tape.

FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel contributed to this report.

3 comments:

mrs.missalaineus said...

i think if they consider the tax 'entertainment tax' they might be able to get away with it- just like you pay more for dining out in NYC or how they are trying to raise more taxes on casino winnings here- it also seems fair that they should tax churches by the same rate if you ask me seeing as that's 'entertainment' too.

as for the porn thing, i hate to say that much worse gets filmed in the restrooms and locker rooms of our schools on any given day, and then it's posted to the web to either brag about a conquest or to humiliate someone who was lured into a compromising situation. it also goes to show that NO teacher, can monitor kids in two places at one time. if we are in the halls, we can't watch the class and vice versa. when you cut education budgets thin enough that you cant have some damn hall monitors, a lot worse can and does happen in the classroom.

miss you! we just had our first almost significant snow day but 5-8 ended up in a slushy two which melted by lunch (despite the number of schools that had closed just in case....) we had class anyways- our new boss is very common sense and experienced. things are looking up

xxalainaxx

the dogs' mother said...

Tennessee has cabarets? Not even sure what a cabaret is anymore - kind of a quaint term.

Those kids could be future tax payers if Carr gets his law passed!

Joy said...

MMA, right!! When people say we should be more aware, they don't realize how often kids can find places and times to torment and bully each other and to have sexual contact with each other (all kinds). We can't be everywhere and budgets keep being cut and you said all the rest!

I thought the same thing, Froggy.