The "forbidden stuff" to which you are referring is not really "forbidden stuff" in the legal sense in the US. There are no specific laws saying that fisting and golden showers are illegal. So, I don't know if these tapes would actually be confiscated if the package had been opened.

"Kiddie" porn, on the other hand, is another story. It IS illegal to have pornography containing people under 18 years of age. Therefore, someone importing a Traci Lords video, could get into trouble. I'm not sure about beastiality videos. My guess is that these ARE illegal, but since they can be found in stores in Manhattan, I not so sure about that.

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Maybe I'm naive but I don't understand the subtleties of the US legal system...

If those practises are not illegal why are US companies being prosecuted about fisting or GS contents in their VHS tapes or DVDs?

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Edited by - Asmodeus on May 18 2002

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Unlike other parts of the world, the US has not specifically defined what is and is not acceptable in adult films. Obscenity is based on "community standards". Therefore, while fisting might be completely acceptable in NY City or San Francisco (where people are supposedly more open minded), the exact same video could be prosecuted as being obscene in Alabama or Tennessee.

Obscenity laws are the only ones that I can think of where something is not considered a crime until a jury decides that it is a crime. Back in the 80's an adult company asked a court to rule on whether a video was obscene before they released it and the court refused. The court basically said that it couldn't make a ruling until a crime had supposedly been committed. This meant that in order to get a ruling, the company had to release the video, a prosecutor had to bring them up on charges, and they would have to face a trial in order to find out if their video was legal or not. On top of that, if the video was ruled as being obscene, they would face penalties (fine or jail). Even worse, because of "community standards", if the court ruled the video as not being obscene, that wouldn't have meant that it was free from prosecution in other parts of the country (which would supposedly have different "community standards".

Because of these insane laws, the video companies (and stores) in the US have stayed away from acts that have been portrayed in movies that have been ruled obscene in any communities in the US. Fisting and golden showers are two of these categories.

Recently, some companies have begun releasing videos containing fisting again. There have been some attepmts of prosecution against some of these companies (Seymore Butts being an example). Unfortunately, the fact that these case have been dismissed doesn't mean that they can't be prosecuted again in a more conservative community than Los Angeles.

Other acts, such as kiddie porn (and maybe bestiality) are not illegal because of onscenity laws (although they could be ruled obscene), but because of other laws protecting children and animals.

So, my original point regarding seizure by Customs is based on the fact that unless you import a video containing one of these other "illegal" acts, or a specific video that has been ruled "obscene" in the jurisdiction in which you are attempting to import it, Customs has no valid reason to confiscate that video.

Also, many of these obscenity prosecution cases are against local stores. They real purpose of these prosecutions is not obscenity, but harrassment of the store owners in attempt to put them out of business in their neighborhood.

There ARE a few mail order companies in the US that distribute some European titles contining fisting and pissing. By doing it throug mail order, they bypass the "public" display of these videos and therefore lower the likelyhood or prosecution.

The bigger issue that you will have importing European videos into the US will be the PAL/NTSC issue. Unlike in Europe, NTSC TV's can NOT also play PAL sources. However there are some VCR's (and DVD players) that will convert a PAL source to an NTSC output.

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I think US Customs has higher priorities than porn right now.

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My brother moved to NJ recently but he works for a US company so it was much easier. There are many pros and cons to making any big move and I am fortunate to know someone settling into a new environment.

My second choice would be Canada. They base immigration on a points system and they have fisting dvds.

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I'd rather be anywhere but here, but I'm here and not anywhere.

lol.

I think US Customs has higher priorities than porn right now.

I can agree with that statement.

The bigger issue that you will have importing European videos into the US will be the PAL/NTSC issue. Unlike in Europe, NTSC TV's can NOT also play PAL sources. However there are some VCR's (and DVD players) that will convert a PAL source to an NTSC output.

Yeah, that's the only thing keeping me from ordering "forbidden stuff" from Euro dealers.

---BIGmike, over and out!---

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Also, if there are European titles that you want that DVA doesn't carry, if you buy them on tape, I can convert them to NTSC for you.

Edited by - Bill Broderick on May 18 2002

Edited by - Bill Broderick on May 18 2002

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