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1873 The Comstock Act
One word this act produced is "comstockery" and the use does not note favorable activity.
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The Comstock Act of 1873 made it illegal to send "obscene, lewd or lascivious," "immoral," or "indecent" publications through the mail. The law also made it a misdemeanor for anyone to sell, give away, or possess an obscene book, pamphlet, picture, drawing, or advertisement. The breadth of the legislation included writings or instruments pertaining to contraception and abortion, even if written by a physician. Although officially titled An Act for the Suppression of Trade In, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use, the statute did not provide a definition of obscenity. After Congress passed the bill, it designated Comstock as a special agent in the United States Post Office charged with enforcing the law. With the help of his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, Comstock was able to arrest individuals under the new act.
The highlighted "Comstock" is Anthony Comstock:
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Named for Anthony Comstock, a zealous crusader against what he considered to be obscenity, the act criminalized publication, distribution, and possession of information about or devices or medications for "unlawful" abortion or contraception. Individuals convicted of violating the Comstock Act could receive up to five years of imprisonment with hard labour and a fine of up to $2,000. The act also banned distribution through the mail and import of materials from abroad, with provisions for even stronger penalties and fines.
Vestiges of the act endured as the law of the land into the 1990s. In 1971 Congress removed the language concerning contraception, and federal courts until Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled that it applied only to "unlawful" abortions. After Roe, laws criminalizing transportation of information about abortion remained on the books, and, although they have not been enforced, they have been expanded to ban distribution of abortion-related information on the Internet. Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts introduced legislation in 1997 to repeal abortion-related elements of federal obscenity law rooted in the Comstock Act.
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Anthony Comstock (March 7, 1844 – September 21, 1915) was an anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian morality. He opposed obscene literature, abortion, contraception, masturbation, gambling, prostitution, and patent medicine. The terms comstockery and comstockism refer to his extensive censorship campaign of materials that he considered obscene, namely anything remotely discussing sex publicly, including birth control advertised or sent by mail. He used his positions in the U.S. Postal Service and the NYSSV (in association with the New York police) to make numerous arrests for obscenity and gambling.
Of course the same Postal Service issued and allowed this in the mails:
1. Words shown were not her words, rather from a different poet.
2. Was a pimp running a brothel.
3. Worked as a prostitute.
Was dead when 1 arose, thus had no opinion but from my long association with the family, I think she would not want any but her words to appear.. For 2 and 3 she was quite open with that information as it was part of her life which made her who she was and can be found published in many many places.
As to your question, not directed to me, rogdcam,
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As for "positive censorship" that seems to be an oxymoron. No? Could you provide an example of positive censorship?
I believe all three are examples of the USPS engaging in positive censorship, 2 and 3 to issue the stamp and failing to reissue a stamp with a quote that was actually hers; an action which may have allowed 2 and 3 to enter into the issue of reissue.
Posted 05/28/2023 12:04 am
