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Article: Good Questions: Roses are yellow, violets aren't blue
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- February 14, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WE BEGIN in appropriately topical manner by bringing the romance
of St Valentine's Day into perspective. Several inquiries have
posed what boil down to two essential questions:
Why is the sending of Valentine's cards not prohibited under the
same legislation that criminalises poison-pen letters and other
anonymous and threatening postal communications?
Section 11 of the Post Office Act 1953 prohibits the sending of
"a postal packet which encloses any indecent or obscene written
communication, etc". For this purpose, "indecent or obscene" means
offending against the recognised standards of propriety, with
indecency at the lower end of the scale and obscenity at the higher
end. Offences carry ...