Some of the entertainment coming out of California these days is simply outstanding.
No, we’re not talking about Hollywood. Rather, we’re enjoying the spectacle of well-intentioned laws steamrolling the state’s left-wing constituents. There’s an old saying that a conservative is just a liberal who’s been mugged. Here, the mugging is coming from Sacramento legislators and bureaucrats. Pass the popcorn.
The plot goes like this: In January, a new law took effect in California cracking down on the scourge of fake autographs. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the law “requires any dealer (defined as a ‘person who is principally in the business of selling’ autographed items for more than $5) to provide a certificate of authenticity with the sale.” The law further “requires a cumbersome documentation process, and the records must be retained for seven years.” Fail to comply, and you’re liable for damages, plus “civil fines of 10 times the actual damages.”
But here’s the twist: The Chronicle reports that the new law is “causing anguish for an unlikely victim.” Caught in the law’s grip, it turns out, are local bookstores that hold book-signing events with authors. The co-owner of one independent chain, Book Passage, told the paper, “If we had to do everything this law requires, it would kill our author event program, which is the bedrock of our business.” The bookstore is suing the state.
The bookstore crackdown could tragically endanger the appearance of one author coming in to talk about, according to Book Passage’s website, “his exploration into healing modalities [that] led him to become a deep tissue body-worker and counselor, as well as a male mid-wife.” Patrons might be denied the wisdom of another author, who promises to teach how to “use your sensuous, desirous, wildly feeling female body as a steadfast and trustworthy compass.”
We don’t know how this ends, but as a comedy, we give it two thumbs up, even though the script sounds awfully familiar.
