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Man drops anti-porn lawsuit against Utah (but he’s still suing to marry his computer)

Posted at 12:59 PM, Sep 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-08 15:02:01-04

SALT LAKE CITY — A man suing the state of Utah over porn filters is dropping his lawsuit, expressing faith that the state legislature will address it soon.

But Chris Sevier is still suing Governor Gary Herbert and Utah County Clerk Bryan Thompson for the right to marry his computer.

In a filing Thursday, Sevier — who has a history of filing unusual lawsuits — asked a federal judge to “nonsuit” (or dismiss) his case against the state. He reserved the right to file it again.

FILE: Chris Sevier filed suit for the right to marry his computer.

FILE: Chris Sevier filed suit for the right to marry his computer.

Sevier sued Utah over a law passed that allows Internet Service Providers to charge for anti-porn filtering technology. He argued that ISPs should have the filters automatically installed, and customers should have the ability to “opt-out” to view adult content online. In his filing, he called it a “slam dunk case for the Plaintiffs under the first amendment (sic).”

As for why he’s dropping the lawsuit, Sevier said in the filing that the Utah State Legislature appeared ready to address the topic.

“As a matter of goodwill and fairness to the State of Utah and the Attorney General, the Plaintiffs at this time think that it is best to voluntarily nonsuit the case in order to allow the wheels of Democracy to run their course before the State legislatures,” he wrote.

“Although the United States is not a pure Democracy but a Constitutional Democracy, and although the Plaintiffs cause of action is valid under the first amendment (sic), and although the Plaintiffs are not the types to ever run from a fight, the Plaintiffs do think trust that the Honorable legislative members of the state of Utah are in the best position to deliver the justice that the Plaintiffs are insisting.”

Sevier filed the lawsuit on the heels of a resolution in Utah that declared pornography a “public health crisis” and generated international headlines. He has a history of filing lawsuits against states over the right to marry his laptop computer.

Sevier still has a lawsuit pending where he is demanding the right to marry his computer in an apparent protest against same-sex marriage. The Utah Attorney General’s Office has said the lawsuit lacks merit, and computers cannot consent to marriage.

Read the motion to nonsuit here: