The decision upholds the state’s anti-obscenity law, with justices stating that “public morality can still serve as a legitimate rational basis for regulating commercial activity, which is not a private activity.”
Love Stuff, in its appeal to the Supreme Court, had claimed the state law banning the sale of sexual aides was unconstitutional and that it its unconstitutionally vague.
The justices, in their ruling on Friday, quoted the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a similar 2004 case, Williams vs. Attorney General of Alabama. In that case, plaintiffs seeking to sell sex toys and novelties were seeking to enjoin enforcement of the state’s anti-obscenity statute.
"As the 11th Circuit in Williams pithily and somewhat coarsely stated: 'There is nothing 'private' or 'consensual' about the advertising and sale of a dildo," the justices said.
XBIZ was unable to reach Huntsville lawyer Amy Herring for comment by press time, but she told the Associated Press that the store is reviewing its options for appeal.