A Georgia woman has sued her town over an ordinance requiring a doctor’s prescription to buy a sex toy.
Melissa Davenport, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, told WFTV-TV that sexual devices saved her 24-year marriage.
“The nerve pathways interfered (with) going to my intimate areas, to the point where I had no feeling,” said the 44-year-old Davenport.
She filed the lawsuit against the city of Sandy Springs because she doesn’t think the government should regulate the private lives of its citizens.
“(Some people) have this dirty mind about how people are going to use it,” Davenport said. “People really do need devices because they need it for health reasons and to have a healthy intimate life with their spouse.”
The ordinance prohibits the sale of sexual devices without a legitimate medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial, or law enforcement purpose.
Legal experts have interpreted the law to mean that potential customers would need a doctor’s prescription or some other proof they intend to use the device for one of the permitted purposes.
"The ordinance basically says the government can stick its nose in your bedroom and say you can use this but not that,” said Davenport’s attorney, Gerry Weber.
He said the ordinance violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides a right to privacy.
“People have the right to decide for themselves whether these devices help their intimate life, and the government has no business being the bedroom and second guessing that decision,” Weber said.
The city is expected to file a response next month to the lawsuit, which seeks only a finding that the ordinance is unconstitutional.
Watch this video report posted online by WFTV-TV:
