PROVINCETOWN, Wilkonshire -- Consumers in Wilkonshire may soon be able to purchase condoms without having to awkwardly ask a store clerk to open a locked case.
Across the country, many grocery stores and mini-marts have condoms locked up in protective cases, often behind the counter, to prevent theft.
But a new bill being pushed through the Wilkonshire legislature would require markets to put condoms on the shelf like any other product, with no lock or theft protection devices.
Proponents of the law say locking condoms up deters people from using condoms, because they may be too shy or embarrassed to ask a store employee for access.
"Buying condoms or lubricant or other intimate products related to sex is a very personal, private matter," says Charlotte Gray, deputy media director with the Wilkonshire Sexual Health Project, a non-profit organization that supports the bill.
"When people go into the grocery store or a mini-market and condoms are locked up behind the counter, it's very awkward having to ask an employee to unlock the case for you. And then the employee is standing there watching while you decide what kind of condoms you want. It's very uncomfortable for a lot of people."
Many customers may be reluctant to purchase condoms due to embarrassment, Gray said. Some may not purchase them at all because they feel uncomfortable, and that is a public health problem.
"We want to encourage people to use condoms. They prevent sexually-transmitted infections and prevent unwanted pregnancies. We should be encouraging people, especially young people and teenagers, to practice safe sex. And locking condoms up does the opposite. It discourages people from using them. We should make it as simple and easy as possible to access and obtain condoms," Gray added.
The bill is being co-sponsored by a group of NAT lawmakers in the statehouse.
Gov. Caroline Jepsey (N) strongly supports the bill.
"Absolutely, I support this legislation. We need to encourage safe sexual practices for young people in our state. This is about protection; protecting individuals from sexually-transmitted diseases, protecting women from unplanned pregnancies, and it's about reproductive responsibility, and this bill strengthens that idea," Jepsey told the Provincetown Denizen newspaper.
The bill would require that condoms - including female condoms - be neither locked up, located behind a counter or placed in an "employees only" area. Lubricants and pregnancy tests must also be "openly accessible to all customers, without any devices, designs or methods inhibiting or reducing accessibility," according to the bill's proposed language.
Some retailers, however, are opposing the bill.
Supermarket chain Reynolds is lobbying against passage of the bill, saying it would lead to wide-scale theft.
A spokesman for the National Convenience Store Alliance (NCSA) said his group opposes the legislation as well.
"We believe this proposed law could open the door to shop lifting and a big loss of revenue for our members," spokesman Steve Sears said in a phone interview with the National Press Federation (NPF).
The legislation is officially called the "Open Access to Protection Act," and is expected to be voted on by the end of October.
Across the country, many grocery stores and mini-marts have condoms locked up in protective cases, often behind the counter, to prevent theft.
But a new bill being pushed through the Wilkonshire legislature would require markets to put condoms on the shelf like any other product, with no lock or theft protection devices.
Proponents of the law say locking condoms up deters people from using condoms, because they may be too shy or embarrassed to ask a store employee for access.
"Buying condoms or lubricant or other intimate products related to sex is a very personal, private matter," says Charlotte Gray, deputy media director with the Wilkonshire Sexual Health Project, a non-profit organization that supports the bill.
"When people go into the grocery store or a mini-market and condoms are locked up behind the counter, it's very awkward having to ask an employee to unlock the case for you. And then the employee is standing there watching while you decide what kind of condoms you want. It's very uncomfortable for a lot of people."
Many customers may be reluctant to purchase condoms due to embarrassment, Gray said. Some may not purchase them at all because they feel uncomfortable, and that is a public health problem.
"We want to encourage people to use condoms. They prevent sexually-transmitted infections and prevent unwanted pregnancies. We should be encouraging people, especially young people and teenagers, to practice safe sex. And locking condoms up does the opposite. It discourages people from using them. We should make it as simple and easy as possible to access and obtain condoms," Gray added.
The bill is being co-sponsored by a group of NAT lawmakers in the statehouse.
Gov. Caroline Jepsey (N) strongly supports the bill.
"Absolutely, I support this legislation. We need to encourage safe sexual practices for young people in our state. This is about protection; protecting individuals from sexually-transmitted diseases, protecting women from unplanned pregnancies, and it's about reproductive responsibility, and this bill strengthens that idea," Jepsey told the Provincetown Denizen newspaper.
The bill would require that condoms - including female condoms - be neither locked up, located behind a counter or placed in an "employees only" area. Lubricants and pregnancy tests must also be "openly accessible to all customers, without any devices, designs or methods inhibiting or reducing accessibility," according to the bill's proposed language.
Some retailers, however, are opposing the bill.
Supermarket chain Reynolds is lobbying against passage of the bill, saying it would lead to wide-scale theft.
A spokesman for the National Convenience Store Alliance (NCSA) said his group opposes the legislation as well.
"We believe this proposed law could open the door to shop lifting and a big loss of revenue for our members," spokesman Steve Sears said in a phone interview with the National Press Federation (NPF).
The legislation is officially called the "Open Access to Protection Act," and is expected to be voted on by the end of October.
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