The Florida Legislature passed, and governor Ron DeSantis has signed SB 160 Prohibited Acts in Connection with Obscene or Lewd Materials. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation and filed in 2018, which was killed by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee at that time. It was re-introduced again in March 2019, this time around it was accepted by the Criminal Justice Committee and pushed forward. The bills final vote in the House was 113 yeas and 0 nays; the Senate passed it with 40 yeas and 0 nays.
The issue has become a nationally and internationally discussion since studies and research have concluded that the use of pornography pictures and items like child sex dolls, raises the risk factor higher-risk offenders.
Non-supporters of the bill insist that child-like sex dolls should be looked at as a sex toy and the research does not prove anything.
The law now stands
SB 160 “prohibits a person from knowingly having in his or her possession, custody, or control an obscene, child-like sex doll.” The bill states that first-time violators will be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor, repeat offenders will be charged with a second-degree felony. According to Fox News Network, Sen. Book stated that these anatomically correct, lifelike child dolls need to be taboo in the state of Florida. While supporters of the bill agree that a sex doll is a form of child pornography. The law will start being enforced on October 1, 2019.
Other states and countries place bans
On May 10, 2019, Tennessee governor Bill Lee signed SB 0659 sponsored by Senator Janice Bowling, that ban the possession, sale, distribution, and transport of child-like sex dolls. Kentucky is still working on their SB 102 that would ban child sex dolls, with the hope it will soon be heading to the Governors desk for signing.
Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada have all banned child-like sex dolls based on their laws. The United States has yet to even look at this type of ban for fear of Constitutional First Amendment scrutiny.
No real study or research
A psychotherapist can argue the worthiness of child-like sex dolls as helpful or a compassionate act to those who wish to exploit real children, but they offer no proof.
What has been proven is the fact that over 60,000 children are reported to have been sexually abused every year, whether it is by brutal rapes, frightening verbal talk or 'creepy,' groping touches. Sexual abuse of children is happening every day by family members, foster care programs, public and private schools, sports, youth-oriented programs and organizations, churches, and the list go on and on. And yet no congressional committee is formed, no law enforcement agencies, no federal judges have focused any extensive investigations of what is happening to children and the physical and psychological wounds they have to endure every day.
