Obama Condoms
Hope is apparently not a form of protection
My friends who live in New York have been reading about this controversy for a while now, but I realized after picking up the Metro the other day and being bombarded with stories of these ridiculous condoms again, that maybe everyone else in the country needs to hear about what’s been going down in Times Square. Apparently, for the past two years, the street vendors of the “Obama Condoms” have been fighting an ongoing battle with the NYPD about selling their political condoms on the streets of NYC, and it’s just getting uglier and uglier.
You may have seen the Obama Dildo awhile back, and while hilarious, that’s old news. No one is in Times Square selling those things… at least not that I’m aware of. The people over at ObamaCondoms.com, however, have a vision, a passion. And some good one-liners (from their site):
“Will they work?
No condom is 100% effective, however if you don’t want that baby’s mammas drama, you gotta choose Obama. So like anyone with a good exit strategy, keep a backup plan handy!What size are they?
Obama Condoms are one size fits most; however smaller sizes (for Asians and Caucasians) are available upon request.Are they real condoms?
Obama Condoms are real latex condoms that are FDA approved. Not only will they protect you from accidental spills, statistics show that they’re safer than the Department of Homeland Security.What makes Obama Condoms so special?
Obama Condoms are black to make her feel like the first lady (even if she’s really second or third).”
Hilarity aside, they have been running into some legal troubles as of late: Obama Condom vendor Jose Andujar has been arrested on three separate occasions for selling the condoms on the streets of NYC. Several days ago, a NY Criminal Court Judge ruled in their favor, saying that Obama Condoms are protected under the 1st Amendment, stating that the condoms “are protected by the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech” and should be treated “like books, which do not require a vending license.” Seems like a pretty open-and-shut case, and that the vendor(s) in question should be able to sell them on the streets of NYC without any problem, right? Unfortunately, the NYPD is choosing to disregard that ruling and is still giving Jose problems on the street, arresting him again last week. “I pay my taxes, I have a letter from a judge,” said Andujar. “I don’t know why they think it’s illegal. The NYPD is going rogue…. Someone at the NYPD thinks condoms are offensive and doesn’t want me selling them,” said Andujar. “This isn’t a family [barbecue], this is Times Square.”
Amen, Jose. Let’s support our friendly novelty condom peddlers! If you can’t find Jose and his buddies on the streets of NYC, you can order them on the official site. Just watch his spiel below; how can anyone argue with that?
-Felicia Jackson
Photos courtesy of http://0s-valores.tumblr.com
Tags: 1st amendment, jose andujar, nyc, obama condoms, times square
