Adam Lambert’s performance during the America Music Awards–which aired after 10pm during the “safe harbor” broadcasting period–has cause a bunch a of conservative bluenoses like the Liberty Counsel to get all worked up. Guess they haven’t read the FCC guidelines recently. For material to be “obscene” it

must meet a three-prong test: (1) an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (i.e., material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts); (2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and (3) the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Lambert’s performance has artistic value, and even if you don’t care for his music. And enough people do like him that they voted him American Idol.

And as for as his performance being “indecent, there are regulations in place for that:

Indecent material contains sexual or excretory material that does not rise to the level of obscenity. For this reason, the courts have held that indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely. It may, however, be restricted to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience. The FCC has determined, with the approval of the courts, that there is a reasonable risk that children will be in the audience from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., local time.

In interviews since, and most recently on CBS’ The Early Show, Lambert made the point that it’s a reaction to the male-male kiss

If it had been a female pop performer … I don’t think there’d be nearly as much of an outrage at all.

And and his debut album was released the day after the show…hmmmm. Listen to the lyrics, it’s pretty clear he’s a super showman whether he was just carried away by the moment as he claims, or had it planned.