Posted on 05/24/2005 1:42:28 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions that may be difficult for some readers.
A crowd of people gathered on Capitol Hill last Thursday to hear experts* in obscenity law and sexual crimes speak in recognition of Victims of Pornography Month.
What they said in that room should be heard by every American. (It just so happens that you can download and listen to the presentations, including one by CWA’s chief counsel, Jan LaRue, on our Web site by clicking here.)
First, if you aren’t convinced yet that we, as a society, should crack down on pornography, consider some of the facts presented at the summit.
Where should we start? Maybe with this statement from Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values in Cincinnati, Ohio: “I’ve never met a police officer yet who investigated a pedophile that did not find pornography. Every one of them said pornography is always on the scene.”
Or perhaps that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMC’s) Cyber Tip Line (http://www.cybertipline.com/) collected about 1,500 reports of possible child pornography being transmitted online in a seven-day period earlier this month (and 293,000 reports since 1998), according to Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, Director of the Family Advocacy Division at NCMC. They received 35 reports of adults trying to meet and greet children in chat rooms that same week.
Or, we could also consider facts presented by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a psychiatrist, professor at Princeton University and researcher at the University of Nice, that the sexual slavery trade is the third-largest source of funds for organized crime, right behind drugs and arms, and that pornography drives that trade.
Plus, Satinover mentioned studies showing that brain activity associated with craving pornography is “identical to any other behavioral or chemical addictions.” In fact, some have pointed out that pornography is as addictive as cocaine, but even harder to overcome due to the images burned into the user’s mind. “It is not an art form,” he said. “No one gets addicted to The Washington Post. No one gets addicted to James Joyce [author of Ulysses, a book with some erotic scenes].”
Satinover also had the courage to point out the motivation behind the porn industry: “Its purpose is not to entertain.” Its purpose, he said, is to lead the viewer to “achieve arousal and orgasm” as quickly and frequently as possible. There’s a financial interest – the more the buyer gets aroused by pornography and achieves orgasm, the more he will purchase. Comparing the purchasing frequency of mainstream movies and pornographic ones makes that clear.
When the movies, magazines and Web sites just aren’t cutting it anymore, the user moves to the final stage: acting out. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Florida) read the following quote from serial rapist Ted Bundy, made one day before his 1989 execution:
“The purveyors of pornography repeatedly challenge us to prove that pornography causes violent crime,” said Rep. Harris. “I challenge them to prove that it does not.”
Likewise, John Richter, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, said, “Because obscene material is so accessible, many may fail to realize that availability does not equate to legality.”
Concerned Women for America (CWA) Chief Counsel Jan LaRue wrote an excellent, full-scale paper on this topic, Hard-Core Harm.
So, what can you, as a citizen, do with the information these knowledgeable presenters gave? Here are several ideas:
Start with your own home. Supervise your children on the Internet, and teach them how to safely use it. Read CWA’s brochure, 14 Ways You Can Protect Your Children Online, for help. Watch out for peer-to-peer file-sharing sites like Kazaa and Morpheus, as they are virtually unregulated – children can easily access pornographic files and even give away your household’s personal information. If you or your spouse is struggling with addiction, there is help (see http://www.victimsofpornography.org/ for a start).
Be aware of what – or who – is in your neighborhood. Check with local law enforcement to see if it maintains a sex offenders’ registry. Use the registry to find out if any convicted sex offenders live in your neighborhood. If your state doesn’t have one, lobby your officials to make this information public.
Encourage your local officials to prosecute obscenity. If juries never get the opportunity to set community standards, then pornographers will set them. In cities where prosecutors have gone after pornographic shops and other sexually oriented businesses, all types of crimes have dropped. Local law enforcement should be enthusiastic about cleaning up communities in this way.
Encourage your local and national representatives to make laws to protect Americans from obscenity.
Sign up for e-mail alerts from groups like CWA that are fighting pornography. We’ll keep you informed as to how you can act on the issue. Sign up at www.cwfa.org.
Vote! Watch how your officials and representatives are voting, acting and responding to your requests regarding obscenity. Register to vote, and encourage your friends and family to register as well!
Educate others. One voice can start a movement! Join an organized grassroots organization like CWA – we’ll be happy to tell you how you can become active at the state level (phone: 800-964-2203). Encourage your friends to join e-mail lists, or form one of your own to pass around vital information. Organize events in your community and bring in experts like the ones at this presentation.
Contribute to hard-working groups like CWA, CCV and others. We are dependent upon generous giving from people like you.
John Richter ended his remarks by asking for continuing support of American citizens:
We aren’t backing down to the purveyors of obscenity… we do not fight these battles alone. We know that folks like you here today – decent, honest Americans – support us. And it is my last privilege today to ask for your continued support as we continue to move forward. I want you to think of our team as I think of them: As those men and women, at Justice, who seek justice, by doing justice, for those who deserve justice.
*Among the presenters were Concerned Women for America (CWA) Chief Counsel Jan LaRue; Citizens for Community Values President Phil Burress; Reps. Katherine Harris (R-Florida), Mike Pence (R-Indiana) and Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania); Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas); Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, John Richter; Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, Director of the Family Advocacy Division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Focus on the Family Media and Sexuality Analyst Daniel Weiss; Florida Deputy Attorney General George LeMieux; and Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a psychiatrist, professor at Princeton University and researcher at the University of Nice.
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Hmmmm. Nothing like a little hyperbole, generalization, and bigotry to liven up a thread, no?
Including the guy that takes matters in hand while slobbering over the plastic airbrushed "Pet of the Month" with Ted Bundy or a pedoperv is way over the top.
So was your comment. Bigotted hyperbole is'nt pretty no matter which direction it comes from.
Dobson? There's no law against kooks getting degrees and licences.
I never said I want gov't control. As a Christian, I believe the Bible to be true and authoritative. God consistently condemns "pornea", the Greek word from which we get "pornography."
If you do not believe God to be correct, that is your privilege. However, I believe God is correct and that means pornography is wrong.
You want to watch it - up to you. I will continue to say it is wrong and speak against it.
"Fear is the path that leads to the darkside. Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - - Yoda
Yeah exactly right - I can't wait till the kids are around to kick on Chicks w/ D$%^& in the dvd player.
Would you have sex with your wife in front of your kids or grandkids?
Would you shower in front of them?
Would you watch Schindler's List with a 5 year-old?
I would imagine that the answer to these questions is no. So, is there anything wrong with any of these things?
Girl, you always get attacked, good for you!
Hope all is well!
Yes ---If everyone who viewed porn was a rapist pedophile there wouldnt be a male or female virgin over 8 left in the world. Although I am sure most sex criminals have probably viewed porn, I doubt it was the porn that made them into a sex criminal.
Do you have sex in front of your children and grandchildren?
yanno, I wouldn't let a kid of mine skydive before he or she reached a level of maturity needed to handle the experience.
does that mean I am ashamed of having enjoyed jumping out of airplanes?
your arguments are full of logical errors.
please take a moment to examine them critically.
Thanks for explaining that to me..I am not a prude but can't see why anyone would want to visit a site like that.
Yes, exactly.
And their hints or outright statements that they are addicted to porn are alway so cutesy-clever, so full of smirky pathetic humor. Because people who are subject to compulsions and addictions always know that they are less than fully adult, far less.
Some of these people are truly no different than the Taliban, only to a lesser degree. Ooops, I am using their logic.
hehe
Sure....
They know it's wrong.
I certainly don't. Why don't you explain it to me?
If these folks truly believed porn *isn't* wrong they'd have no problem "enjoying" it in front of their children and grandchildren.
That is a lie, as has already been demonstrated. I wouldn't have sex in front of my children, and that certainly isn't because there's anything inherently wrong with sex. I wouldn't even have had the sex that conceived them in front of my children. I wouldn't do a number of things in front of my children simply because they are children and the things in question are inappropriate for children, even though appropriate for adults.
Maybe you are a mental child, but I am not. And, if I so choose I will do the things that are appropriate for adults in their context regardless of whether they are appropriate for children.
You don't have to be pro-porn to take issue with so-called "experts" who are telling people to encourage their national representatives to pass laws that are outside the Constitutional powers of the national government. Doesn't anyone on this thread remember the concept of "enumerated powers"? It's like you say "porn" and everyone's head empties.
Thanks
Men are more visually stimulated than women. I saw a show that had done a study of sex from the ancient to the modern era on the History Channel. It explained why you have "butt" guys and "chest" guys and why they are the same :)
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