Those big-breasted, devil-babe temptresses from underground artist Coop are evidently leading some fans straight into the hoosgau. Coop tells Boing Boing, with a heaping helping of his trademark irony, "Dig this shit! I'm a posterboy for the first amendment!"
Stickers on a Clovis man’s car portray cartoon images of bare-breasted female devils in sexually compromising positions. And the images have caught the attention of Clovis police. Officials have charged 31-year-old Dean Young, the owner of a yellow Ford Focus displaying the images, with distribution of sexually oriented materials to minors. The charge is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum punishment of 364 days in jail and $1,000 fine. Young is scheduled to appear in magistrate court on the charges in the next few weeks.
Young in turn has notified the American Civil Liberties Union, which is considering representing Young; an ACLU spokesman said Young’s First Amendment rights may have been violated. Officials at the ACLU said they’ve never seen the stickers – one on each side of the car near the rear window, each about 4 by 6 inches wide – but based on the police report said they doubt the stickers violate the law.
“I’ve never heard of anyone getting a ticket for a sticker on a car,” said Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico. “Unless the stickers are directly and immediately inciting people to violence – that’s the only way the Supreme Court has said that free speech can be somehow limited.”
The image shown here is the exact image Mr. Young placed on his car in the form of a sticker. Link to full-size.
When asked for comment, Coop tells Boing Boing, "I just feel bad for this poor dude. He's a waiter at Shakey's or some shit, and now he's gotta deal with this. We're gonna try to see if we can help him out with this. Lawyers have been called. On the plus side, I might move to Clovis, since they have clearly eliminated all serious crime in the city, and the police are free to waste time on stupid shit like this."
Link to news story, Link to Coop website
Previously: Coop iPod skins, and snapshots from Coop gallery show in LA
Update: The ACLU says: "We are actively looking into this matter and expect to have a special response as soon as possible." (thanks, Ruth Waytz!)
