I found the following paragraph in a newspaper article that explains why, at least in Wisconsin, condoms are being moved back behind the drug-store counter, so that customers have to specifically ask for them. (It's supposed to be an anti-theft measure; apparently, there are a lot of prophylactics bandits around.)
Before a 1965 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Griswold vs. Connecticut, birth control was illegal in some states. The decision found the law unconstitutional, but it extended the legal access only to married couples. Not until 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a Massachusetts case, did it become legal for unmarried persons to buy condoms. [emphasis mine] Wisconsin updated its state statutes in 1976 to comply with that Supreme Court ruling but retained a ban on commercial display or advertising of birth control devices. Only a 1977 Supreme Court ruling finally declared those provisions unconstitutional.
Marvel at how recently legislators and judges considered it their business to tell U.S. citizens how not to get pregnant; and how recently it was that unmarried people were magnanimously allowed by law to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases with a bit of latex. Astonishing.
If the Vatican ever gets kicked off of the Italian peninsula, the Pope and his lackeys will surely find a welcoming new home here in the United States. In our great land, sexual mores are really just a few decades ahead of those imposed by medieval bluenoses like our pointy-hatted friend.
On that last note, here's a wise and funny thing my mom used to say whenever the Vatican issued one of its birth-control decrees: "If you're not one of the game's participants, don't meddle in setting its rules."
The Dutch have a great word for a person who habitually sticks his or her nose into other people's business: bemoeial (literally "meddle-all"). My mom despised bemoeiallen (plural), of all political and religious persuasions. In that sense, she didn't just give birth to me; she also, posthumously, gave birth to this blog, which is all about putting bemoeiallen in their place.
I'm proud to carry on the family tradition, and sincerely hope that, down the line, my daughters will do their bit in telling sundry fingerwaggers to go fuck themselves — condom optional.
She looks like a very classy and pretty lady. And Rogier, you look just like her. (in a less pretty way)
Posted by: K. Dale Boley | Friday, January 05, 2007 at 12:16 PM