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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Uhh...I'm a guy...my 14th anniversery is barely a month away, and I'm not agreeing with you. I still think you're rationalizing your choice of behaviors. If I were you, and I liked porn, I'd just admit it.
I am beginning to think your efforts, mine, and those of others are doomed to be in vain.
is there a term for someone "addicted to" logical fallacy?
You're going to be oddly perplexed when you find out your "Republican Only" anti-porn crusade is peopled with nanny-state leftists, being led into battle by hairy-armpitted feminist harridans.
Dubya has stated repeatedly (in his own words) that the US is multi religious society.
I encourage you to fully embrace your beliefs. But legislating for everyone to abide by your belief system is Talibanesque.
The Almighty gave us all free will. I refuse to allow anyone to take it away.
You are equating married sex with porn addiction.
Here it is; sex isn't a spectator sport. Porn is empty, dominates the addict, who cannot say No.
Oh, and the people who truly believe they are going to hell for missing mass on one Sunday are not totally addicted to religion?????
Its the same psychology. You can enjoy something without being addicted to it and having it run your life.
another good point, also probably in vain.
the real issue is supposedly christian charitable fraud organizations constantly demonizing activites they don't approve of (sins of the flesh), and use FEAR and DAMNATION exaggerations, in order to RAISE MONEY and build a bigger organization... with job security for the spongers of society.
The WORST day on the planet for employees and execs who run the "Cancer.. bla bla" organizations of American, will be the day that CANCER bites the dust...
no more excuses to blizzard us with their urgent pleas for more money to do research. to pass more smoking laws, to do whatever it is that any particular 'sin' prevention organization is in the BUSINESS of exploiting to rake money in at the expense of the stupid idiotic dupes that support them.
All of these 'temperance' non-profit groups, are frauds and OUGHT to be put out of business and treated like the grifters they are...
Porn is in the eye of the beholder... and the "I know it when I see it" folks, are full of blubber. Because EVERYWHERE they look, THEY SEE IT. Swimsuits, miniskirts, tank tops, stockings, miracle bras, sports illustrated mags, probably even national geographic.
They see a pedophile behind the sale of every pair of five inch stilleto heels. They need to be defunded legally before they nanny state us to death.
"Women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear. (Cleveland)"
http://www.bitoffun.com/stupid_laws_Ohio.htm
(stupid laws website.)
the "strange bedfellows" barb clamors to be hurled, don't it?
Read my earlier post, I told you I don't mind it. I also don't think Congress has any business wasting time on this other than that which concerns child porn.
Porn requires LOOKING and you have to admit, there is a level of LUST in order to LOOK
Ok, you're just getting silly now. I haven't agreed with chris1 much in this thread myself, but you're getting way out of your league by trying to tell him what he needs to do in his marriage. You don't know him, you don't know his wife, you don't know jack about the situation. You're getting waaaaaay to personal with the guy when you start talking about what he knows about "his woman".
Tragically, they also don't seem to be able to distinguish between porno and the love act established by God that is reserved solely for a husband and his wife.
As you inferred, it's difficult to have an intellectually honest discussion with 'em.
That's correct. Read more about this deadly toxic plague on humanity here.
Ahh, isn't that typical...Christian doesn't mean Chatholic...NOt all Christians are Catholics and visa versa.
Gee, I can't fathom why your wife might find you unattractive. You sound like such an attentive and considerate lover. /sarcasm.
Couldn't it just be that they genuinely disagree with you? Occam was a smart guy.
Once again, a specious argument that detracts from your credibility. Let's follow the logic: if one hides something (or more accurately, is disinclined to do it in front of their children and grandchildren), then it must be because it is immoral and spawns guilt.
I do not go to the bathroom in front of my children. I do not shower in front of my children. I do not have sex in front of my children (even when I was married and the sex was "legitimate".) I do not pick my nose or fart or belch or pick my toes or my navel or do my taxes in front of my children.
There are certain activities that belong in the adult realm, or at least the private one. Privacy does not equate to guilt, although certainly guilt could be one reason for desiring privacy. But simple modesty may be another. Or respect for another's sensibilities.
YOU may feel guilty about porn or sex. But it is specious (and a conceit) to extend that sentiment to everyone else.
They have medication for that kind of chronic paranoia. AND hatred.
There you go. Now you're satan too.
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