North Carolina § 14-190 - 1. Obscene literature and exhibitions.

§ 14-190. 1. Obscene literature and exhibitions.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to intentionally disseminate obscenity. A person, firm or corporation disseminates obscenity within the meaning of this Article if he or it: Sells, delivers or provides or offers or agrees to sell, deliver or provide any obscene writing, picture, record or other representation or embodiment of the obscene; or Presents or directs an obscene play, dance or other performance or participates directly in that portion thereof which makes it obscene; or Publishes, exhibits or otherwise makes available anything obscene; or Exhibits, presents, rents, sells, delivers or provides; or offers or agrees to exhibit, present, rent or to provide: any obscene still or motion picture, film, filmstrip, or projection slide, or sound recording, sound tape, or sound track, or any matter or material of whatever form which is a representation, embodiment, performance, or publication of the obscene. For purposes of this Article any material is obscene if: The material depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct specifically defined by subsection (c) of this section; and The average person applying contemporary community standards relating to the depiction or description of sexual matters would find that the material taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex; and The material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; and The material as used is not protected or privileged under the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of North Carolina. As used in this Article, "sexual conduct" means: Vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, whether actual or simulated, normal or perverted; or Masturbation, excretory functions, or lewd exhibition of uncovered genitals; or An act or condition that depicts torture, physical restraint by being fettered or bound, or flagellation of or by a nude person or a person clad in undergarments or in revealing or bizarre costume. Obscenity shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults except that it shall be judged with reference to children or other especially susceptible audiences if it appears from the character of the material or the circumstances of its dissemination to be especially designed for or directed to such children or audiences. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to knowingly and intentionally create, buy, procure or possess obscene material with the purpose and intent of disseminating it unlawfully. It shall be unlawful for a person, firm or corporation to advertise or otherwise promote the sale of material represented or held out by said person, firm or corporation as obscene. Violation of this section is a Class I felony. Obscene material disseminated, procured, or promoted in violation of this section is contraband. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preempt local government regulation of the location or operation of sexually oriented businesses to the extent consistent with the constitutional protection afforded free speech. History (1971, c. 405, s. 1; 1973, c. 1434, s. 1; 1985, c. 703, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 1194; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1998-46, s. 2.) Cross References. - As to civil remedy for sale of harmful materials to minors, see G.S. 19-9 et seq. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1971, c. 405, which enacted this section, in s. 2, effective July 1, 1971, provided: "Every word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or other part of this act shall be interpreted in such manner as to be as expansive as the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of North Carolina permit." Legal Periodicals. - For article, "Regulating Obscenity Through the Power To Define and Abate Nuisances," see 14 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1 (1978). For note on control of obscenity through enforcement of a nuisance statute, see 4 Campbell L. Rev. 139 (1981). For article on a model act to prevent the sexual exploitation of children, see 17 Wake Forest L. Rev. 535 (1981). For article, "Obscenity: The Justices' (Not So) New Robes," see 8 Campbell L. Rev. 387 (1986). For article, "Pornography and the First Amendment," see 1986 Duke L.J. 589. For article, "Regulation of Pornography - The North Carolina Approach," see 21 Wake Forest L. Rev. 263 (1986). For note, "Assessing the Constitutionality of North Carolina's New Obscenity Law," see 65 N.C.L. Rev. 400 (1987). For observation, "Why The 1985 North Carolina Obscenity Law Is Fundamentally Wrong," see 65 N.C.L. Rev. 793 (1987). For note, "Seizing Obscenity: New York v. P.J. Video, Inc. and the Waning of Presumptive Protection," see 65 N.C.L. Rev. 799 (1987). For comment, "Prostitution and Obscenity: A Comment Upon the Attorney General's Report on Pornography," see 1987 Duke L.J. 123. For note, "Constitutional Law - Non-Traditional Forms of Expression Get No Protection: An Analysis of Nude Dancing Under Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc.," see 27 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1061 (1992).