Colombia Town Considers Must-Carry Condom Law
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James Joyner | Wednesday, January 11, 2006 |
A Tulua, Colombia city councilman is proposing a law requiring everyone over the age of 14 to carry a condom at all times.
A western Colombian city councilman wants to require everyone in town 14 or older to carry a condom to prevent pregnancy and disease, outraging local priests. William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said Wednesday he will present a formal proposal to force all men and women â even those just visiting â to always carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could pay a fine of $180 or take a safe sex course, he said.
“Sexual relations are going on constantly,” Pena told The Associated Press by telephone. “If you carry a condom, chances are you’ll use it during the day. It’s not going to be there forever.” Tulua has one of the highest rates of AIDS in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March, he said.
Roman Catholic priests in the Cauca Valley town, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, were fuming over the plan. The Rev. Jesus Velasquez said it would only encourage sexual relations and ridiculed it as absurd. The local newspaper El Tiempo on Wednesday quoted him as saying, “I would have to have a condom even though I’m clergy.”
Given the events of the last few years, a Roman Catholic priest exemption hardly seems warranted.
The law itself, though, would be beyond silly. The idea that people who are now catching venereal diseases and getting pregnant accidentally would not be in those situations if only they had a condom handy is hard to believe. Further, condoms have a limited shelf life. Forcing people to carry them around for weeks on end just in case could have some very harmful unintended consequences.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Now does this mean that the city government has to provide them for me? What if I can't afford one, will one be provided for me then? Does the fact that I've been married to the same woman for 15 years have any bearing on whether I have to carry a condom? What conduct would give a police officer reasonable suspicion that I did not have my condom with me and thus give him/her a reason to search me?...
Don't these politicians have anything better to do with there time other than think up stupid laws?
Oops didn't read carefully enough, thought the town was in the U.S.
Just goes to show that politicians think up stupid laws no matter where they are.
Is there a separate permit required for a loaded one?
How stupid -I would perforate mine just to tell them what I think of this foolishness!
Sounds like a happening town; free love, fellow babies.
My mind reels with questions about this. All of which should remain unasked.
Teddy Kennedy should live in Columbia.
Just think, Kennedy could put his condom starting from the top of his head all the way down to his ankles and demonstrate to everyone what kind of person he really is.
are you exempt if you promise to have sex only in a CONDOMinium ?
dale ; politicians NEVER have anything better to do than to think up stupid laws[lol]
So just how are they going to check to make sure every citizen above the age of 14 is armed with a condom? What will give the cop probable cause to check that one?
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