Let it be noted that we are all in awe of your state of zen like ignorance. Meanwhile, the rest of us mere mortals find it somewhat … tricky to ignore some things. Two people fucking in the middle of a featureless beach in the middle of the day is one of those things.
And [humblebrag alert, for which I apologise ] I say that as someone who has done a bit of middle-of-the-day fucking on beaches (albeit mostly in the dunes) and in the surf.[/humblebrag alert] Luckily the application of laws here tends to be a little more sane, and folks are more likely to just throw water at the problem, rather than the popo.
The point being that there is a continum between the puritanical NO SEXY SEXINESS ANYWHEER EVAH! at one end, which Florida seems to favour, and meh, fuck on the escalator in the library or the aisles at the supermarket if you want. I don’t care at the other end, which appears to be more in line with your ideal. Strenuously disagreeing with one end of the spectrum does not mean I’m in favour of the other end.
This is why stupid feel good laws always get twisted into legal cudgels that have no relation to the intended, desired effect.
So instead of “serial child rapist”, we’re ruining the lives of idiots banging in the sand (I mean seriously - 20 minutes with all that BEACH SAND?) or teenage dumbasses who send nude pics.
Yes, proportionality is exactly what we need here. Not just for the offender but for everyone else too.
This may not have occurred to you but it takes a LOT of taxpayer resources to arrest, charge, prosecute, convict and imprison someone for multiple years. It also costs a lot to maintain and enforce a sex offender registry. And neither of those account for hidden costs like the economic impact of people who can’t contribute to the workforce because they’re either in prison or unable to find anyone willing to hire a registered sex offender.
If this couple had been sentenced to community service then the public might actually have experienced a net gain from this ordeal. Instead, we get a six-digit (at least!) price tag and a couple of people who are no longer capable of making a meaningful contribution to society if they wanted to. But hey, at least we’ve sent a message to any would-be exhibitionists out there.
Pretty much waiting for the drop where the guilt of hauling a videotape recorder and lighting, then shooting 1:20 damned them. No, Florida, no. Just make the prosecutor wear a suit of red LEDs like they’re on fire for producing with intent to transmit foreplay for the creepy fetish garbage this judgment represents, then rescind.
There’s honestly a public health risk there. I’d prefer they stay out of the fresh produce area and away from the meat counters, but yeah, in the aisles is fine, although they ought to wear helmets if they’re gonna do it standing up in a cart. Although, I’d suppose you’d call it a trolley, since only Americans seem to call them carts.
So the lack of a particular sunblock for privates (other than tiny parasols) just freaks you right out? The hour? Yeah, you’re supposed to have a domain, and it’s supposed to have limits. Grocer, fine! Greenmarket, just in knits please.
That’s a very broad brush to paint with.
Maybe the station lackey ordered the giy to “smile for the camera” while a couple of cops out of frame menacingly brandished their truncheons.
I’ve had sex several times on beaches in the middle of the day with consenting partners. I always had the decency to find a secluded spot where no one would be bothered. One time another couple stumbled around the bend, noticed something was happening, and promptly reversed direction. Oops.
These people either likely had poor judgment or exhibitionist tendencies, and certainly picked the wrong beach and time. Bad call. Jail worthy? Hardly. The USA has a pretty messed up attitude towards sex and nudity, imho, the worst they should get is a fine or community service tops, especially the first time for this sort of offense.
If you read the actual report, there wasn’t a lot of people around, only one child. The grandma who was there with her 4yr old kid and was “outraged”, stayed the entire 25min they were having sex, filmed them from not very far away, and hung around with her kid for over an hour afterwords while they napped and cuddled. When the couple woke up and started making out again and it looked like they were going to go for a second round, someone else confronted them and called the cops. No offense, but that grandma could have moved down the beach if she was really bothered (not that she should have to), the fact that she stayed there with her kid and filmed them, in my mind is pretty messed up. If you are upset your kids are being exposed to something, your first priority should be to get them out of that situation, right?
(oh and apologies for the run-on sentence…i know it will bother some of you. haha.)
Add the cost of prosecution and processing to this and it hardly seems worth it. With community service or a fine at least the cost impact would be lessened as well as being a more reasonable punishment. The problem with living in a country who’s legal system is run by the prison industrial complex is the cost to the public takes much needed money from other more productive uses like education and infrastructure.
That sounds like fellow beachgoers were pretty tolerant. They let’em go at it for a while, but after 25 minutes they started heckling “Get On With It!”.
The average cost of a year in prison in the US is apparently $23,876. Consequently this decision will cost taxpayers $120,000. Really - is that genuinely worth it? Can’t you guys think of a way to punish stuff like this without spending so much damn money and messing up people’s lives… That’s before we even get onto the sex offender nonsense…
I would be opposed to beach masturbation as well, but the penalty is still ridiculous. Two and a half years in prison and a spot on the sex offender registry basically ensures a lifetime of unemployability and substandard housing. If the headline had been something along the lines of “Couple having public sex gets community service and a stern speech” I doubt anyone would be bothered.
… for a completely unrelated crime? I can see maybe being harsher on somebody if they are a habitual offender (though I’m not convinced it will make a difference, even in that case)… But his previous conviction was for cocaine trafficking,
As mentioned above, it’s not like he’s regularly getting caught fucking on beaches. His previous conviction is completely unrelated. And the fact that you think it’s germane that she was half his age is also pretty telling…
] I say that as someone who has done a bit of middle-of-the-day fucking on beaches (albeit mostly in the dunes) and in the surf.[/humblebrag alert] Luckily the application of laws here tends to be a little more sane, and folks are more likely to just throw water at the problem, rather than the popo.