Have sex offense laws ‘jumped the shark’?
The phrase “jump the shark”, according to the Urban Dictionary, is the point at which something loses its touch and begins to grasp at straws. It was coined by Jon Hein, who wrote a book citing examples of television shows that reached a peak and then began to go downhill. It refers to an episode of “Happy Days” in which Fonzie jumped a shark on water skiis. From that point on, the show ran out of story lines and came up with ridiculousness to keep it on the air.
Last week, when I read some news stories about a group of Jeffrey Epstein victims who are behind a proposed bill to block “childlike sex dolls” I realized that we might have arrived at the point where sex offense laws have jumped the shark.
To preface my thoughts; I greatly empathize with Epstein’s victims. What happened to them is horrible. That’s not the point. I’m also not in favor of “childlike sex dolls”. Until Sen. Lauren Book introduced a bill about them, I didn’t even know they were a “thing”. I’ve been involved in advocacy for more than a decade and have heard the stories of hundreds of registrants. Not one began with “well it all started when I saw this ad for a childlike sex doll…” Again, totally not suggesting that these things should be allowed to exist, but that’s not the point.
The point is; are “childlike sex dolls” really a problem or have lawmakers simply run out of ideas for new laws to capitalize on “sex offender panic” and are so desperate for ideas they are coming up with this doll agenda and then trying to sensationalize it by throwing Jeffrey Epstein’s name into the headlines?
One Florida lawmaker in this article was even quoted as saying, “These dolls not only violate children mentally and emotionally but also deny their privacy rights.” Wait… what? Are the dolls mentally and emotionally violated or are actual children violated by the dolls? I was also a kid once and I remember being terrorized by “Chucky” from the horror movie series, but I can’t remember any of my friends mentioning anything about childlike sex dolls.
Again, we are all against sexual abuse of any kind and it’s something that needs to be taken seriously. I just question whether there is an actual problem that exists here and needs to be addressed, or are politicians just trying to capitalize on the political points sex offense laws bring them, but are running out of creative ideas.
I’d rather have them molest a doll than a real child
If doing a doll keeps kids safe i am all for it.
@ D: That makes sense to me as well – better a doll than a real child.
(Those who oppose the dolls are probably the same ones who argue that viewing pornography leads one to commit rape.).
In fact, sex toy manufacturers do make both artificial silicone vaginas and silicone anuses. So if one purchases and using one of those, how are the powers-that-be going to monitor one’s thoughts when one
uses those toys? What if the user is fantasizing about rape? Or fantasizing about a child? To be precise, wouldn’t they actually want to monitor the individual’s fantasies rather than monitoring what “toy” the individual uses? But that’s the real problem, isn’t it??
Could the same thing be said of the proposed new SORNA rules?
Are the States going to go along with these are is it going to be too much trouble for the money or are SO’s going to have to pay a tax (reg fee) in every state they have to register in? There may be a lot of shark jumping going on but I am thinking it is going to be bull shark.
In a word: yes
The entire sex offender status has gotten completely out of had, when I was in court mandated therapy the therapist said that by the laws being so out of hand that more than 90% of the population has committed a sex offense, I believe it’s 40% gets caught and out of that only 20% has an real brutal offense. We live in a society that gives teacher’s sex Offenses for sleeping with teenagers who by law can have sex, 18 year old who sleep with 17 year old bf and gf get sex Offenses, and jail and prison staff that get offenses even though they put opposite sexes together and you get to know these inmates what do you think will happen the whole process needs to be reevaluated.
What the issue is, anyone that would want to have sex with a childsex doll just might want to have sex with a child. Isn’t that what this is about? Or if a child happens to hear about or happen to see one of these dolls it might affect them in such away as to what they think about it depending on the child. One child might think it is rediculas or one might think it to be funny or the worst thing would be is to scare them and not know what to think. And the child could carry the thoughts with them for a long time. But hopefully they would tell their parents. Could this be the issue about the sex doll? I know it doesn’t help a registrant in any kind of way, so it probably is just another nail in our coffin.
Yes, Book is claiming that child sex dolls are a “gateway drug” that leads straight to having sex with real children. While that is possible when overused, you could also argue that legal adult sex dolls MAY lead to adult rape when overused. But it could also be said that for many people, they could satisfy their need and keep them from going any further. The child dolls would only bother a child or their privacy if a real child or their picture was used to create a very life-like face. Just seeing a naked doll or a naked person causing damage for life is BS when any child can see naked people in any museum or art book all day long not to mention seeing their own bodies. Occasionally, in any household, a child may accidentally see a relative naked or walk in on Mommy and Daddy. Most of us probably have. It also pops up on TV a LOT! Get over it! They do.
“These dolls not only violate children mentally and emotionally but also deny their privacy rights.”
I completely agree with the author – when I read the above statement, I immediately thought “Wait…what??”🤨🤔
So, to offer an obvious extension of that argument, silicone phalluses (i.e., “dildos”) violate men mentally and emotionally and deny men their privacy rights.
Clearly, this is an intolerable and indefensible assault upon the male gender!: All dildos must be made illegal, banned and confiscated.
😖 As a male, I feel degraded, violated & objectified just knowing such horrendous “artificial male genitalia” exist! 😖
(Seriously, that’s the argument, right??)
That’s cute, FAC, but no need for FAC to stoop to that level in a public forum (you can leave it to us commenters to do that just fine).
My impression is that the author is implying these dolls are used to groom children for sex. That is to make them feel like it is normal and thus ok for them. This is very much like one of the arguments against child porn, i.e. that it is used to reduce a child’s inhibitions.
I find it hard to believe there is any evidence that inflatables are used in this way, but exists only in the author’s imagination in an attempt to fortify his groundless assertions. He wrote, “Experts say pedophiles use the lifelike dolls to “normalize” sex acts against children and prey on minors.” What experts? Where are they? Show me the studies.
I’m fairly convinced that this is just more BS with no evidentiary support whatsoever.
Veritas.
I personally don’t care if they ban child like sex dolls. I didnt even realize this was a thing. But they may also wanna ban cash money, nice cars, big house’s, status and anything else you can think of that a person may be attracted too that would cause them to committ a sex act if thats the line of thinking were going with. I as a young man 100 yeats ago knew plenty of women who would easily sleep with and date older men who had all these things. So better be safe and ban everything. OH and while we’re at it. Maby ban the zillion porn site that get millions of hits a day with every taboo sex perversion legal and illegal you can think of. Young, mature, large, small, incest, its all there for the world to see. Better ban those too.
Please read the list I have compiled below. Partly for the humor and partly to demonstrate AMERICAN Laws jumped the shark years ago and have never came back down.. All of them..(This is only a partial list and by no means all inclusive)
Alabama &Kentucky/Georgia: Throughout it’s illegal for a person to walk down the street with an ice cream cone in their back pocket.
Alaska: it is illegal to give alcohol to a moose.
Arkansas: against the law to honk a car horn in front of a sandwich shop after 9 p.m.
California: a frog that has participated in a frog jumping competition cannot legally be killed (or, by extension, eaten).
Colorado: it’s illegal to own a rooster. You may own up to 3 turkeys though.
Delaware: Fenwick Island, Delaware it’s illegal to have a picnic on the highway! huh?
Florida: Miami Beach, it’s against the law to sell any food—even the state’s celebrated citrus—from open-air stands.
Georgia: chicken must be eaten with the hands instead of a fork and knife.
Idaho: it’s illegal to fish from a camel’s back in Idaho, which is technically true, but the actual law prohibits fishing from the back of any animal.
Illinois: In Chicago, it is illegal to eat in a place that is on fire.
Indiana: it’s actually illegal to eat them in the parks of Beech Grove, Indiana.
Maine: Its illegal to use tomatoes in clam chowder.
Maryland: illegal to use oyster shells in road construction materials or to allow chickens to eat them.
Massachusetts: In Boston, it’s illegal to eat peanuts in church.
Michigan: In Detroit it is illegal to let your pet pigs run loose, unless you have a ring in their nose.. then its ok in motor city.
Minnesota: Hamburgers are illegal on Sundays in St. Cloud.
Missouri: illegal to give elephants beer.
Nebraska: it’s illegal for bar owners to sell alcohol unless they’re simultaneously cooking up a kettle of soup.
New Hampshire: it is illegal to harvest seaweed at night.
New Jersey: illegal to slurp soup
New Mexico: Illegal to carry a lunch box down main street.
North Carolina: It is illegal to take grease from restaurants.
Ohio: In Marion, Ohio, it’s illegal to eat a doughnut while walking backward.
Oklahoma: it is not permissible to take a bite of another person’s hamburger.
Oregon: It is illegal to eat ice cream on Sunday
Pennsylvania: you are not allowed to eat peanuts while walking backwards in front of the Barnstormers Auditorium during a performance.
Rhode Island: illegal to throw a pickle at a trolley
South Carolina: eating watermelons in the Magnolia Street Cemetery is forbidden.
If i seen or even heard of some weird ass dude whos sales or owns child like sex doll’s im calling cops they might need to keep a i eye on that guy phuck it id even make and anonymous call and have his house raided and all his devices cease on suspicion of CP …
You’ve never seen anyone with such a doll. You are the sucker targeted by sponsors of such legislation.
Yep, the criminal politicians know how to con suckers and dumb people, that’s for sure.
BTW, if registries are to exist, this AERO1 person is exactly who should be listed on it for life. Because he/she thinks that other people should be. I want this person to be listed forever. Karma.
Ignore “Aero1”, he’s just the same tired, boring troll from Elijay GA that keeps leaving his droppings here occasionally. He’s just desperate for attention because he’s a loser.
No victim. No crime. It is dangerous that our country has gotten use to turning people into criminals so easily. I know a lot of people who use to say, so who cares about the registry anyway, it does not affect me. So is this a battle to fight with regard to the mission of most on here? Probably not. I have no room on my plate for it. But does it concern me greatly…yes. It another step in the wrong direction.
I think it’s not only against child-like sex dolls, but even dolls that are just smaller. Our nation keeps this lie of “well, they did this, so they’ll do that” and want to arrest people before anything happens; this goes against our very Constitutional rights.
After hosting the Shiitake Awards for 12 years now, I can guarantee you every single time we think no one can top the level of stupidity set by someone featured on the awards, we find someone worse.
Here are some of the craziest things I’ve seen in the past 12 years:
Tarrant Co TX Judge George Gallagher used a shock collar on an accused sex crime suspect multiple times in court for not answering questions to his liking.
Kenton Co KY Assistant DA Kyle Burns found out his new neighbor in Ft Mitchell is a registered person, then filed to open a pocket park in the city to force the registrant to move out.
Alabama Sep. Steve Hurst spent over a decade pushing for a mandatory surgical castration law before getting a chemical castration law passed. That’s even longer than Chris Smith pushing Int’l Megan’s Law for 8 years before it passed.
Media in Kansas City attack a registrant for making an art sculpture made out of bicycles, claiming it will attract children.
Eric Zahnd, Platte Co MO Prosecutor threatened and intimidated people who wrote letters of support to a man on trial for a sex crime.
Austin Strickland of Mulberry, FL attacked a man who found his lost daughter, assuming the man must be a registered person for helping his kid.
Inmates at Walton prison in the UK fear they could be sleeping under blankets made by SOs. The prisoner describes himself as “horrified” to learn a “sex offender’s hands have been all over my blanket” and questions why they are distributed throughout the prison system.
The infamous Polk Co FL sheriff Grady Judd refused to let registered persons shelter anywhere but jail during hurricane Irma.
Virginia SB 666 (2016) banned registered citizens from buying those obnoxious “specialty license
plates” that benefit children’s programs. This bill affected a whopping 13 license plates in the entire state.
The FBI was reported in 2016 to be the largest distributor of child porn in America.
Russell Speigel of Cottage Grove, WI tried burning down a registrant’s house and lit himself on fire instead.
NY Dream Foundation reviokes dream vacation for dying vet after discovering his registration status.
Graham Co. NC Sheriff Danny Milsaps sent letters to all registrants in his county that said if they want to attend church, they can do so at his jail.
Chad Hightower, a now-former Wise County Texas Sheriff’s Deputy, was arrested for forcing Registered Citizens to pose for embarrassing nude photos while claiming it was part of the registration process.
Manassas City (VA) cops proposed making a 17 year old take a pic of his own penis as evidence to prosecute the teen for child pornography.
Bruce M. Ferg, US Attorney (AZ) said of prosecuting a 10 year old kid as a sex offender: “My opinion is this is the best thing that could’ve happened to the kid…”It is not vague to say, ‘If you do this kind of activity, we don’t care what age you are, you are liable for prosecution.'”
Lisa Riniker, Grant Co. WI DA was sued over prosecuting a six year old boy for sexual assault after he was caught playing doctor; she obtained a gag order to prevent the parents from speaking publicly about the case. She bypassed the parents and sent a court summons directly to the kid (threatening to lock him up if he doesn’t show up), and is even demanding the kid sign an admission of guilt.
Florida vigilante Barbara Farris made headlines after she was arrested for menacing; she had previously attempted to open a registrant concentration camp complete with color-coded armbands to signify the type of offender.
Son of famous child victim advocate Mark Lunsford was arrested for child molestation; Lunsford used his celebrity and even threated the prosecutor tto have the charges against his kid dropped.
Washingron state tried passing a bill in 2009 that would have forced all Registered Persons to have a microchip implanted inside them.
Speaking of microchips, how can we forget John Walsh stating we should have exploding microchips implanted into our rectums?
These are just a handful of the winners.
Sadly, there has not been a shortage of stupid sex offense law stories to fill my blog.
Believe me, if there’s anyone in this world that can top the stupidity I’ve already posted here, that person will likely be an elected official from the state of FloriDUH.
Forget about Mark Lunsford’s son. Mark Lunsford himself was caught by the police with child porn on his computer shortly after Jessica’s death. https://www.ocala.com/article/LK/20050719/News/604234922/OS
He wasn’t prosecuted because the police said he had been through enough.
I limited my above list to just some of the winners of the Shiitake Awards since its inception in 2008. There are plenty of crazy stories that don’t ultimately win that are just as worthy of recognition just like the Lunsford CP case.
Laws banning dolls shows that law makers are clueless to the realities of sexual harm and how it manifests. They continue to use prohibition tactics to legislate their way out of this mess, which will never work. It didn’t work in the war on drugs and it won’t work with other behavioral issues either. Until they are willing to truly understand the problem, they will never solve it and only serve to aggravate things further.
In a nation full of idiots, it’s not any wonder why such laws get passed. I witness idiocracy everyday and wonder why the Covid-19 doesn’t wipe these people out.