Thursday, February 26, 2015

State Rules That Lobbyists And Politicians Can Legally Have Sex

State Rules That Lobbyists And Politicians Can Legally Have Sex
Should lobbyists and politicians be legally allowed to have sex with one another?
That is the debate that many people are having in North Carolina, where the state’s ethics commission recently decided that sex between lobbyists and politicians is perfectly legal.
 The new law brings up a subject that many rarely think about, the fact politicians are literally in bed with representatives of groups that are interested in influencing government.
The issue was raised late last year, when Joal H. Broun, the secretary of state’s lobbying compliance director, sent a letter to the commission asking whether or not it was legal for politicians to engage in sexual intercourse with lobbyists.
Last week the commission released their answer, saying that:
“Consensual sexual relationships do not have monetary value and therefore are not reportable as gifts or ‘reportable expenditures made for lobbying’ for purposes of the lobbying law’s expenditure reporting provisions.”
The response concluded that:
“This interpretation does not address the legal, moral or other ramifications of two adults not married to one another engaging in consensual sexual relations with one another.”

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