Williams: Law Won't Stop Me From Selling Adult Toys

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Adult storeowner Sherri Williams has told XBIZ that after losing an almost 10-year fight against the state ban on the sale of sex toys, she and her attorneys are preparing to file a new lawsuit challenging the law's validity.

Williams' attorney Reed Lee told XBIZ that they are working on a new strategy to challenge the law, and that there may be another way that Williams can be proactive in determining exactly what the law means and its reach.

"We are working on that," Lee said. "She doesn't necessarily have to sit back and wait to defend herself."

In October Williams announced the Supreme Court refused — for the second time — to hear her case, which then made the sale of adult toys officially illegal in the state. Despite that, Williams said, she's keeping her store stocked.

"I am now breaking the law," Williams said. "I am selling toys that are banned, but [the ban] doesn't stop me from selling them."

Williams said that she has spoken with local authorities, who told her that if there was any talk of a potential raid of her store, they'd give her a prior warning so she can prepare for it.

"I figure after 9-½ years of fighting it, it's the least they could do," Williams said.

Williams also said that she is aware of the $10,000 fine and one year of hard labor that will follow her potential arrest.

"[That] means you're out there breaking rocks and not in some cushy federal prison," Williams said. "You're out there with the real criminals who killed and raped people."

She is now hoping to band together with other Alabama adult retailers for the next leg of her fight, and hopes that this time around they will be both financially and vocally supportive.

"[They] basically have been riding on my shirttails for 9-½ years," Williams said. "It depends on them."

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