Quote:
Originally posted by Max Sweet@Feb 20 2004, 02:09 PM
JR - The area of BDSM has always been grey in Canadian law. We felt that this lifestyle has come a long way in the last 2 decades and that it was time for the law to start reflecting these changes. True that they came after us but we are going to use the opportunity to change things hopefully for the better...
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i remember when all this happened and i remember reading the charges/accusations in some form. it was a while ago and i don't remember if it was actual documents posted on the boards or articles or what. I do remember taking a big interest in what was going on because its something that could affect everyone.
i also remember doing some research and reaching the opinion that Canadian law was anything but gray as others have already pointed out in this thread and after hearing the stories and seeing the content, i found it fairly easy to accept that the charges possibly had merit. the allegations as i recall were very specific as well. So when you combine very black and white laws, with very specific allegations and charges in what will surely be a high profile case, a prudent thing to do would be to give the prosecution the benefit of the doubt.
i think its a big stretch to suggest that there is a victem here. NO ONE, Canadian or otherwise is suggesting there is an unfair witch hunt going on. NO ONE, Canadian or otherwise is suggesting that the content does not push the limits of the law. At best, everyone is saying "Steve is a nice guy, i wish him the best" which is great. I am sure he is a nice guy with a log of friends and there is no question that he has been around.
but there is no martyr here. even you just said yourself "has always been a grey area of Canadian law" - well... if you believe that to be true, then why push the limits of that "gray area" knowing that you will be making yourself a target? that was a choice. just like standing in front of a train is a choice. that choice we see, now has consequences... just as every choice does.
this situation to me seems to be similar to what happened to Extreme Associates... you push the limits and you bring the wrong kind of attention to your business and to the industry while at the same time making yourself the most obvious target. when those guys ran into legal problems, the entire industry did not rally behind them in a show of support... the rolled their eyes and said "it was just a matter of time and i hope it does not create too much problems for us"... just as people are with this issue.