§91.11.  Sale, exhibition, or distribution of material harmful to minors

A.(1)  The unlawful sale, exhibition, rental, leasing, or distribution of material harmful to minors is the intentional sale, allocation, distribution, advertisement, dissemination, exhibition, or display of material harmful to minors, by a person who is not the spouse, parent, or legal guardian of the minor to any unmarried person under the age of eighteen years, or the possession of material harmful to minors with the intent to sell, allocate, advertise, disseminate, exhibit, or display such material to any unmarried person under the age of eighteen years, by a person who is not the spouse, parent, or legal guardian of the minor at a newsstand or any other commercial establishment which is open to persons under the age of eighteen years.

(2)  "Material harmful to minors" is defined as any paper, magazine, book, newspaper, periodical, pamphlet, composition, publication, photograph, drawing, picture, poster, motion picture film, video tape, video game, figure, phonograph record, album, cassette, compact disc, wire or tape recording, or other similar tangible work or thing which exploits, is devoted to or principally consists of, descriptions or depictions of illicit sex or sexual immorality for commercial gain, and when the trier of fact determines that each of the following applies:

(a)  The material incites or appeals to or is designed to incite or appeal to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interest of minors.

(b)  The material is offensive to the average adult applying contemporary community standards with respect to what is suitable for minors.

(c)  The material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

(3)  For the purpose of this Section "descriptions or depictions of illicit sex or sexual immorality" includes the depiction, display, description, exhibition or representation of:

(a)  Ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual, simulated, or animated, whether between human beings, animals, or an animal and a human being;

(b)  Masturbation, excretory functions, or exhibition, actual, simulated, or animated, of the genitals, pubic hair, anus, vulva, or female breast nipples;

(c)  Sadomasochistic abuse, meaning actual, simulated, or animated, flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude or clad in undergarments or in a costume which reveals the pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or female breast nipples, or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained, on the part of one so clothed;

(d)  Actual, simulated, or animated, touching, caressing, or fondling of, or other similar physical contact with, a pubic area, anus, female breast nipple, covered or exposed, whether alone or between human*, animals or a human and an animal, of the same or opposite sex, in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification; or

(e)  Actual, simulated, or animated, stimulation of the human genital organs by any device whether or not the device is designed, manufactured, and marketed for such purpose.

(4)  "Minor" means any person under the age of eighteen years.

(5)  "Video game" means an object or device that stores recorded data or instructions, receives data or instructions generated by a person who uses it, and, by processing the data or instructions, creates an interactive game capable of being played or viewed on or through a computer, gaming system, console, or other technology.

B.(1)  It shall be unlawful for a person who is not the spouse, parent, or legal guardian of the minor to invite or permit any unmarried person under the age of eighteen years of age to be in any commercial establishment that exhibits or displays any item, material, work or thing of any kind that is described in Subsection A of this Section.

(2)  Lack of knowledge of age shall not constitute a defense, unless the defendant shows that he had reasonable cause to believe that the minor involved was eighteen years of age or more and that the minor exhibited to the defendant a selective service card, driver's license, military identification card, birth certificate or other official or apparently official document purporting to establish that such a minor was eighteen years of age or more.

(3)  For the purpose of Subsections A and B of this Section, "exhibition or display" means the exhibition or display of material harmful to minors as defined in Subsection A of this Section so that, as displayed, depictions and representations of illicit sex or sexual immorality are visible to minors.

(4)  A commercial establishment shall not be in violation of this Section if the commercial establishment provides for a separate area for the exhibition or display of material harmful to minors and designates said area "NOT FOR MINORS" or similar words and the commercial establishment prohibits persons under the age of eighteen years from seeing or examining the contents of material harmful to minors.

C.  This section does not preempt, nor shall anything in this section be construed to preempt, the regulation of obscenity by municipalities, parishes and consolidated city-parish governments; however, in order to promote uniform obscenity legislation throughout the state, the regulation of obscenity by municipalities, parishes and consolidated city-parish governments shall not exceed the scope of the regulatory prohibitions contained in the provisions of this section.

D.  Prior to selling material harmful to minors as provided for by this Section, a commercial establishment shall require the individual purchasing the material harmful to minors to provide a driver's license, selective service card, military identification card, birth certificate, or other official form of identification which on its face establishes the age of the person as eighteen years or older.

E.  Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this Section shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

Added by Acts 1966, No. 127, §§1, 2.  Amended by Acts 1968, No. 647, §1; Acts 1974, No. 275, §1; Acts 1988, No. 782, §1; Acts 1989, No. 384, §1; Acts 2006, No. 529, §1.

*AS APPEARS IN ENROLLED BILL.