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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I like having real sex, but if like having your jollies on line more power to you....
He must be a Star Wars fan.
(caution; for adult readers only)
Why didn't it just read: All 16 year old boys - come see this thread!
Wow, might want to have your meds adjusted there, buddy.
Hate to say it but like many of the homo-bashing threads I have to really suspect that the ones with all the energy about it are people that are having trouble repressing their own urges.
Hey - what's up. We actually had a four hour conversation about this, not in the gutter, but truthful.
Dr. Laura's last book was 100% right on and she was attacked for it. Men watch porn and go to strip clubs because most women want men to turn their biology off. People will always look for an outlet.
Got a source for that? Not calling BS, just like to follow up.
Yep, the inference is undeniably and transparently self-evident in the text. At best, what was written was not what was meant to be written....
From his first post on this thread: As the article says, a fleeting though gives way to fantacizing which in turn gives way to pornography which gives way to obsessing which leads to rape and child molesting.
Nowhere in that post suggests that
LOL!
This thread may have set a record for the most venomous vitriol posted in the shortest time in the history of FR.
Party on, party people.
Legal porn and child porn are completely different. Nobody on these threads is defending kiddie porn.
who sees what is the attempt to maintain decency in our society as somehow destroying your "right" to have anal sex with animals in public restrooms.
You're foaming at the mouth, I fear. Nobody at FR has ever defended such behavior.
Before this goes any further, let's define our terms: the only legal type of porn is porn that is privately viewed by consenting adults and that involves only consenting adults in its production.
And that is true for those with weak minds and cannot control thier inhibitions...
My thoughts exactly. It's kind of hard to deny what's plainly written.
there's a group freepers who are hypocritical sociopaths, that want everybody to tow the line except just don't pick on their perversions....
If only they had sons in the gay porn field.....we might see an attitude change...maybe if they had young teenage sons stripping for the local gay bar....
You want violation of the rights of others - how about all the women and children who are forced into sex slavery because of pornography. You can make all the excuses you want for it, but porn is destructive and just plain wrong before God.
It was easy. You took the Lord's prayer and mocked it by putting in your own little dig against the government making laws about moral behavior. I am not stupid and you are an apoligist for pornography.
So then there is nothing wrong with fantasy or porn, right?
You can't have it both ways. Either his statement was saying a fleeting thought ends up at rape and child molestation, or nothing in his comment is related.
Don't have the source offhand, but I remember reading about it (remember Bundy was a very, very slick psychopath who was very good at manipulating people and telling them what they want)...
IIRC The stuff about Bundy and porn was the result of some fundivangelist minister interviewing Bundy and Bundy telling the minister what he wanted to hear.
Teenage sons stripping for the local gay bar is illegal.
I believe you have me confused with someone else.
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