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Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

It is a general concensus with the liberal types who post here that everything wrong with America is caused by the influence of Christianity. It is an on going theme. An Arab can blow himself up in a crowded market and leave a note saying he did it in the name of Allah and his culture or him being oppressed is given as the cause. But if a bad law is passed in Alabama it will be pointed out that it is a Christian State with Christian politicians.

Just because it's an ongoing theme doesn't mean this thread was started with that intent. It's an ongoing theme because more of the people here hold those ideas; it's the culture, if you will. Plus what happens in the US more directly affects us, so it's worth discussing.

Yes freedoms should be allowed. But dildos are not a fundamental
right anymore than cocaine is. Our Canadian society sees nothing
wrong with the one for personal use but does outlaw the other.

So one is limited but the other not in our culture only because of our culture?? There's no other difference? Like, for example, one being negative to our society and the other not?

In Alabama they see both as harmful. In Canadian society I can seduce a 14 year old girl and be on the right side of the law. Someone from
Alabama might find that disturbing. Point being: both we and Alabama
legistate particular personal freedoms. Being culturally a Canadian I
see a law prohibiting sex toys as intrusive. I also see our Canadian
gun control laws as intrusive but, I chose to live here.

Though the law says 14, I would like to see an example of a case where an adult had a sexual relationship with a 14 year old, was prosecuted, and won based on that law. In practice the age of consent isn't 14.

But I agree, all governments restrict freedoms for the benifit of society, and the things limited should be negative things that harm society.

Now your talking about a fundamental right( a limited right to exercise our religious conscience). Can't you see the difference between the two?

Why is the right to express our religious conscience a fundamental right, but the right to express our sexual conscience not? I don't think the classifaction of something as a fundamental right is a black and white thing, it's a scale of gray.. some rights are obvious once our concousness has been raised to them (the right to self determination), other rights are less clear, and some rights obviously need to be restricted. The right to sell a sex toy, if its going to be restricted, has to be shown to be more harmful to society than the harm caused by limiting basic freedoms. In my opinion this causes more harm to society by eroding people's basic freedom than it prevents.

My point was the contrast between the two. This silly law in Alabama isn't very important in the larger scheme of things.

And neither is this thread, or most of the other threads on this board. It's an interesting point of discussion. We're not saving the world here.

Mind you it wouldn't be a silly law to someone arrested and convicted for the sale of sex toys and put in jail.