Pornography is ravaging American society, destroying relationships, and "re-wiring" young people's brains, diminishing their capacity for real human contact and stunting their moral and spiritual growth.
For some time, conservatives have been sounding the alarm about the pornography epidemic in the U.S., but now, some state lawmakers are taking pro-active steps to encourage the federal government to take action against this exploitative and destructive industry.
This petition, therefore, is calling on the U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, to "declare war on porn" and start enforcing existing obscenity laws.
Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, and Brian Babin of Texas signed a December 6 letter to the U.S. Attorney General, decrying the accessibility of “obscene pornography” online, and its harmful effects on both women ensnared by the porn industry and the society in which porn is viewed, particularly young people exposed to the material.
Leading the way, several states, like Utah, have already declared porn to be a "public health crisis," and are working to restrict access to porn and require mandatory filters.
When Utah state legislators were debating the issue in 2016, Republican State Senator Todd Weiler astutely compared tobacco use and porn addiction: “I believe that pornography today is like tobacco was 70 years ago. 70 years ago people said tobacco's not addictive and it's not harmful, and that's what some people are saying about pornography today. I happen to believe that it is addictive and it is harmful."
The Utah State Senator is right!
But, on a federal level, enforcement of existing obscenity laws was effectively shuttered by the Obama administration. And, President Donald Trump has yet to make good on his 2016 campaign pledge to enforce them.
As the federal government has retreated and dithered on the issue, pornography consumption has markedly increased. And, so has violence against women. And so has human trafficking. And so has child pornography.
So now, as the porn epidemic continues to broaden and deepen, the appropriate federal authorities must start tackling this "public health crisis", head-on.
It's now or never, and the U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, must take strong action against pornographers and their distributors.
Various other options, including the mandatory introduction of porn filters on all internet-enabled devices, and mandatory age-checks with a default opt-out system (where an adult would specifically have to opt out of the porn filter by contacting their internet provider), could also be implemented.**
Please SIGN this petition, which asks the U.S. Attorney General to declare war on porn, and start prosecuting pornographers and their distributors using existing obscenity laws.
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jonathan Van Maren's podcast asks the question 'Should porn be made illegal?' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/episodes/the-poison-of-porn-must-be-stopped-heres-how
**NB: LifeSite takes the view that all pornography is both harmful and immoral, and we do not distinguish between "obscene porn" and other types of porn. Therefore, we would ultimately like to see all porn banned, as it degrades human dignity and is harmful and exploitative to the individual and society, alike.
However, until such time as we have lawmakers with the gumption to oppose all porn, we will support efforts which seek to restrict and minimize the clear and present danger it poses.
