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Mo. Rev. Stat. § 573.090

Video cassettes, morbid violence, to be kept in separate area — sale or..

Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Video Software Dealers Ass'n v. Webster (1992)

Most recently applied in Video Software Dealers Ass'n v. Webster (July 1992)

Effective: 01 Jan 2017, 2 histories, see footnote; (L. 1989 H.B. 225 § 1, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491)

1. Video cassettes or other video reproduction devices, or the jackets, cases or coverings of such video reproduction devices shall be displayed or maintained in a separate area if the same are pornographic for minors as defined in section 573.010, or if:

(1) Taken as a whole and applying contemporary community standards, the average person would find that it has a tendency to cater or appeal to morbid interest in violence for persons less than seventeen years of age; and

(2) It depicts violence in a way which is patently offensive to the average person applying contemporary adult community standards with respect to what is suitable for persons less than seventeen years of age; and

(3) Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for persons less than seventeen years of age.

2. Any video cassettes or other video reproduction devices meeting the description in subsection 1 of this section shall not be rented or sold to a person less than seventeen years of age.

3. Violation of the provisions of subsection 1 or 2 of this section shall be punishable as an infraction, unless such violation constitutes furnishing pornographic materials to minors as defined in section 573.040, in which case it shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor or class E felony as prescribed in section 573.040, or unless such violation constitutes promoting obscenity in the second degree as defined in section 573.030, in which case it shall be punishable as a class A misdemeanor or class E felony as prescribed in section 573.030.

Official source: Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Missouri statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.