[Melas]

Are you saying that the prohibition or regulation of pornography could be detrimental to the author's or photographer's liberty? Are you going to victimize them?

I'm saying that it's not as simple as it may first appear. For example, I'm not even sure what you mean by pornography. The definition seems to change from speaker to speaker. Is Playboy pornography, or does pornography require the depiction of sex acts? If Playboy is pornography, then why aren't nude paintings pornography? Those just examples, not the actual thrust of my argument.

In other words, I'm asking for careful, deliberate, considerate contemplation of the matter at hand instead of endless generalities. And yes, I am saying that I don't want to live in a society that seeks to do away with authors like Nabokov, Metalious, Lawrence, etc. I'll find any and all efforts to turn my society into such an oppresive one.

[Mockingbird For Short]

•Legal Definition of "Pornography":

Main Entry: por·nog·ra·phy
Pronunciation: por-'nä-gr&-fE
Function: noun
: material that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement
NOTE: Pornographic material is protected expression unless it is determined to be obscene. However, child pornography is illegal under federal and state laws prohibiting the depiction of minors in sexual acts. —por·nog·ra·pher /por-'nä-gr&-f&r/ noun —por·no·graph·ic /"por-n&-'gra-fik/ adjective —por·no·graph·i·cal·ly adverb

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

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•Legal Definition of "Obscene":

Main Entry: ob·scene
Pronunciation: äb-'sEn
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin obscenus obscaenus indecent, lewd
: extremely or deeply offensive according to contemporary community standards of morality or decency —see also Roth v. United States in the IMPORTANT CASES section
NOTE: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that obscene applies to materials that appeal predominantly to a prurient interest in sexual conduct, depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Material or expression deemed obscene by the court is not protected by the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.