Bad Vibrations

Alabama doesn't actually keep legislative history records, but courtesy of this clever piece at Slate Magazine, you can read the "transcript" of the debate over the enactment of Alabama's infamous vibrator ban.

NB: Supreme Court Justice Scalia doesn't believe in the use of legislative history in interpreting statutes. He prefers looking to the "plain language" of the statute, and if interpreting a statute that way has effects the legislature didn't intend, he believes that it is up to the legislature to fix the problems. Unfortunately for Alabamians, because of budget cuts, the legislative printing office had to reduce the size of the orientation manual given to the legislators. They only had room in the shortened edition to explain how to pass laws and create problems, not how to repeal laws and solve them, so it looks like we are stuck. ;)