Well, this could be something that determines the very fabric and liberty of something we like. A manga fan in the state of Iowa in the United States, Christopher Handley, has had his purchase from Japan labelled obscene and criminal to the point he is facing a 20 year jail sentence. The manga industry is rallying to his defense, for if Handley is convincted, this will certainly invoke a heavy regime of censorship on manga in the Western world and what is considered legal. The manga in qustion is apparently yaoi. Some of the initial charges against Handley have been dropped due to certain censorship laws drawn up in 2003 being ruled unconstitutional.

Original post and details of the US laws involved

Comic book writer and Princess Mononoke Neil Gaiman comments about the case details here. Of major interest was Gaiman's context discussion and that if Handley was found guilty, Gaiman would feel certain he would be arrested himself for some of the works he owns.

Two editorials on the case from two prominent figures in the US section of the manga industry:

Carl Horn

Jason Thompson


So...do you get the impression that just about any anime/manga fan would want Handley to be cleared of charges? Look, I hate sex criminals more than anything. Anyone that hurts a child in that way is the absolute scum of the universe. But as was detailed in those posts, perception of a few important people may end up being all that matters. From the available case details, Handley's material isn't exactly what a normal guy our age would have, but Gaiman's and Chase's comments seemed to indicate that the material in question didn't involve males that were minors. But the idea that it could be seen as being that by the few opinions that matter - that is concerning. The voices of a few people determining what all of us can read and watch? This is a major issue.

Let us not forget other recent comments, such as the one Mappy posted a few days ago. Some factions in Russia consider GTO and Ikkitousen to be depicting similar things. They were never quite my cup of tea, but I never found it 'obscene/criminal'. Imagine if that was banned. That would end up labelling a significant proportion of the market as illegal, perhaps a majority.

This is a big issue. The fate of Handley could end up forging the rights of all anime/manga fans. These are very concerning times we lived in. Considering two decades ago we celebrated the downfall of communism around the world and the censorship and tyranny it invoked, the fact we're regressing towards the things generations past fought so hard to prevent...it's chilling.

This is quite serious, the trial commences February 2nd 2009.

...not sure if I should put this in a more appropriate location, so that we can keep an eye on it, and see how it progresses.

Frankly no person who gets his jollies to drawings on a piece of paper should be locked up for it. No matter how offensive it is. It hurts no one.

I could rant to the thread length limit of this forum but most of it would be considered offensive so I won't bother.

Incidentally, I'm the only one who read

Yaoi

and then

Gaiman

and laughed?

Well, the trial started last night (and got postphoned for a month). I wonder how he's coping....

...then again, stupid trial

Bazza wrote:Frankly no person who gets his jollies to drawings on a piece of paper should be locked up for it. No matter how offensive it is. It hurts no one.

I could rant to the thread length limit of this forum but most of it would be considered offensive so I won't bother.

My thoughts exactly... The only reason why they make this kind of stuff illegal and actually hunt for it is because a manga fan who's into that kinda thing isn't exactly hiding per se because he really not doing anything wrong, and I guess the feds don't want to get all hot and sweaty chasing after the *real* scum of the earth criminals who steal *real* people then *censored* them in front of a camera for some sickos pleasure.

Obviously a 20 year old otaku who likes reading yaoi is MUCH more of a threat to society than say, a mafia family armed with automatics or a psycho that goes around *abducting* people and doing that... I'd head desk right now but i'm afraid I'd break it (the desk)

I find it amusing that we as a larger group (anime, gamers etc) are always told to essentially pull our heads out our asses and live in the real world, yet here are those exact same people... protecting a drawn character? WTF! Me someone who apparently lives in fantasy world a lot of the time, can see straight away what they should be protecting... There's real kids suffering out there.. who just happened to be unlucky, and the cops are wasting their time on sh*t like this

I didn't think my respect for 'the man' could sink any lower, but there ya go

Wow sorry for the rant, but this really gets to me

EDIT: Whoops sorry for necro'ing this thread... thought it was newer than what it was, though my point still stands 8D

Well, here's the verdict:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... on-charges

The Chicago Tribune newspaper reports that Christopher Handley has pleaded guilty on Wednesday "to possessing drawings of children being sexually abused." The Iowa man faces up to 15 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, although sentencing has not been scheduled.

Handley was accused of receiving and possessing obscene manga, as opposed to child pornography, via the United States Postal Service in May of 2006. The judge in Handley's case struck down some of the charges against Handley and ruled parts of the PROTECT Act of 2003 unconstitutional for restricting free speech. However, Handley still faced charges for possession of obscene material because it was "moved in interstate commerce," and his defense had been negotiating a guilty plea for a possible lighter sentence.

Update: MangaBlog notes that the United States Department of Justice has issued a press release on the guilty plea. According to the press release, Handley's original package from Japan contained "obscene material, including books containing visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, specifically Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused by adult males and animals." With a search warrant, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service seized "additional obscene drawings of the sexual abuse of children" from Handley's home.

Handley pleaded guilty under "Title 18, United States Code, Section 1466A(b)(1), which prohibits the possession of any type of visual depiction, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene." He also pleaded guilty to one count of mailing obscene material, and he agreed to forfeit all seized property.

Update 2: People who had commented on the Handley case included Handley's lawyer Eric Chase, Newbery Medal-winning Neil Gaiman, Dark Horse Comics manga editor Carl Gustav Horn, Eisner-nominated Manga: The Complete Guide author Jason Thompson, and lawyer Lawrence A. Stanley.

WTF? 15 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine for some drawings. Thats just wrong since its not "REAL" and it is just a piece of "ART" and it donesn't do any harm to anyone. If someone find the this piece of art offensive then thats only their point of view. So I don't see why he can get charged for it.

"Title 18, United States Code, Section 1466A(b)(1), which prohibits the possession of any type of visual depiction, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene."
This law is F(&^ED up big time.