February 14

Events

• Current events

• 1979 - A day worth commemorating - On this date a major legal decision was reached as Pink Triangle Press and three of its officers were acquitted of charges of using mail to distribute "obscene" and "indecent" material. The charges were based on the publication of Gerald Hannon's "Men Loving Boys Loving Men," an article detailing the lives of three men who describe romantic and sexual relationships with boys. Pink Triangle reprinted the article a month later in The Body Politic along with other commentaries about child-adult relationships that explored feminist critiques, issues of social power, consent, coercion, and protection vs control of young people. The victory inspired the creation of "Pink Triangle Day," a day to celebrate the advances of the gay community.

• 1980 - Surprise! You have a brother now! - Kenneth Parnell abducted 7 year old Steven Staynor in 1972. Seven years later, on this date, Parnell abducted 5 year old Timmy White. Steven decided that he did not want Timmy to have to live as he had had to over the previous years, so a couple of weeks later he took Timmy with him to the police. Both boys were reunited with their families and Parnell was arrested and tried for kidnapping. Parnell was sentenced to eight years and eight months for the two kidnappings, the maximum sentence at the time. He was not charged with any sex crimes. He was paroled in 1985 after serving 5 years. In 2003 Parnell was arrested for trying to purchase a child.

• 1996 - "Yeah, I have a comment!" - The United States Sentencing Commission voted on this date to seek public comment on a series of proposed amendments that would raise the penalties for certain crimes involving child pornography. The amendment proposals were in response to congressional directives in the Sex Crimes Against Children Prevention Act of 1995. The Act directed the Commission to increase sentences for specified child pornography offenses and for offenses that use a computer to advertise or transmit images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. It also directed the Commission to increase sentences for offenses involving the transportation of a minor for purposes of prostitution or prohibited sexual conduct.

• 2001 - Swing and a miss! - Congressman Mark Green from Wisconsin began to seek support on this date from his congressional colleagues for what was called the "Two Strikes You're Out Child Protection Act." The act, quite simply, was designed to require a sentence of life in prison for any person convicted of a sexual crime against a child for a second time, no matter how mild such offences might be. Fortunately, his rabid enthusiasm for hysterical vindictiveness was not shared by enough of his colleagues to make this into law.