Santorum Says He Would Enforce US Obscenity Laws That Obama Ignores

MSNBC ^ | March 16, 2012 | Andrew Rafferty and Alex Moe

[Steelfish]

Santorum Says He Would Enforce US Obscenity Laws That Obama Ignores By NBC's Andrew Rafferty

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL -- Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of not enforcing the country's obscenity laws and said Friday that as chief executive he would crack down on illegal pornography.

Santorum found himself answering pornography questions during a stop at an Italian restaurant here after the discovery of a statement posted in his campaign website in which he asserts that "America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography." Recent reporting has shed light on the letter in which the former Pennsylvania senator vowed to "vigorously enforce" all the country's obscenity laws, though he said the statement was posted three weeks ago.

"We actually respond to questions that we get into our campaign when they say 'What are you going to do about these issues?' And when we respond we post them up on our website. And the response is, ‘we'll enforce the law,’" said Santorum.

"I don’t know what the hubbub about that is," he said. "We have a president who is not enforcing the law, and we will."

The candidate best known for espousing family values argues on his website that pornography causes changes in the brain to both children and adults, and contributes to violence against women, prostitution and sex trafficking. "The Obama administration has turned a blind eye to those who wish to preserve our culture from the scourge of pornography," he wrote.

[PapaBear3625]

LOL! I had bowed out of the thread, having said what I had to say, but that’s just funny!

[jacknhoo]

Good thing you were inclusive, because they all say the same thing.

Santorum, Romney, Gingrich: We’ll Enforce Obscenity Laws
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/three-top-gop-2012-candidates-commit-enforce-nations-pornography-laws

[reasonisfaith]

Sure, and Nazi soldiers killing Polish was happening before Hitler invaded Poland.

[Whats-wrong-with-the-truth]

- "I wouldn't want scumbags voting for me and Rick shouldn't want them voting for him either.

hinckley buzzard -- "Really. This is turning into a Jerry Lewis comedy. If every adult who has deliberately viewed pornography vowed to vote for someone else, Santorum couldn't get elected dogcatcher."

So let me get this right... Because you like porn porn is now good and ok and Santorum shouldn't vow to uphold decency laws? Is this correct? And if what you're saying is correct it's a sad state this country is in and explains a lot about why obomba is now our president. If what you say is true (and obomba is an indication you may be right) then the hearts of the people in this country have grown sick and black and the US is all but doomed.

Nothing personal but I pray you're wrong.

- "Good, honorable, decent people don't have anything to do with porn"

Longbow1969 -- And how are you so noble and pure that you are able to judge people this way?"

I have judged no man only their actions. In fact you cannot name a single person I have condemned. If you happen to feel judged it is your own conscience that is judging and condemning you, not me and in no way does it invalidate or negate my original comments. While others may like porn "Good decent people don't have anything to do with porn" and we don't knowingly support those that do.

Dining on porn is a character flaw and those that do are neither "good" or "honorable." How many of those you know that watch porn would or do watch it in front of their children? Answer: NONE! If it's so "good" and "ok" why don't they? And if they were watching porn with their children would you say there are no crimes being committed?

Longbow1969 -- "Sorry, internet porn is not a pressing national problem."

Sorry, many good, decent, honorable people disagree. We're the ones that have not become desensitized to civility, God and righteousness. We're the ones that don't want our sons and daughters being used by perverts to entertain other perverts. Porn IS a sin and it is bad.

[chessplayer]

Santorum made himself provincial and part of the nanny state with his anti-porn crusade. It might have helped if he were running for Pope.

---

Anyone who doesn’t think he would try to force his religious beliefs on the entire country had better wake up.

[LomanBill]

Santorum VS Larry Flynt —

Hasn’t that case already been decided?

[LomanBill]

Anyone who doesn’t think he would try to force his religious beliefs on the entire country had better wake up.

Yep.

"...who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time;

 

...

 

 that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them. "

 

"I HAVE SWORN UPON THE ALTAR OF GOD ETERNAL HOSTILITY TO EVERY FORM OF TYRANNY OVER THE MIND OF MAN"

--The Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom
--Thomas Jefferson, 1786

http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/vaact.html

 

[Wilhelm Tell]

Newt is sure dialed in to the important issues, as you say. I think that is the reason he is not likely to win. On the left we have the nanny-stater Obama. On the right we have in Santorum a nanny-stater who believes the government, especially the president, can reform people from sin and this is the main vocation of a president and not boring things like national defence or economic policy. Then we have Mittens going to the South and saying he loves grits just like yew little people, and folks just love it. Gingrich talks about things a president can actually accomplish and he goes into detail about policy. He talks to people like they are intelligent adults and the voters will never forgive him for that.

[MD Expat in PA]

Porn IS a sin and it is bad.

Some people also believe that dancing is a sin; some think the same about listening to any secular music. Some people believe that any nudity what so ever, even some in classic art is sinful. Some people believe any kissing before marriage is a sin. Some people believe divorce is a sin. Some people believe drinking any alcohol or smoking cigarettes is a sin. Someone on this board on another thread (I don’t recall who or what thread) said something to the effect that having pets (or perhaps being too fond of them) was a sin. I’ve heard some people say that a married couple who decide not to have children or only one child are committing a sin, whether they use any form of birth control except the rhythm method or not. Heck the folks at PETA, although not most are not Christian, have said things to the effect that eating meat or hunting or cutting down a tree is a sin against Gaia. (IIRC, they even ran an ad saying Jesus was Vegan).

I think porn is stupid and boring; the people involved in making it are sleazy and worse, I had seen some porn when I was younger but I have no interest in it whatsoever, don’t view it, don’t buy it, don’t want any parts of it as is my right. That being said, I don’t want the government deciding for me what is “sinful” and what is not. Of course obviously there are things that are illegal that are also considered sinful, murder, rape, robbery, kiddie porn, etc. but they are acts that interfere with the rights of others. If I choose to view a porno film in the privacy of my own home or read a ribald book in the privacy of my own home, that’s not Santorum’s business or yours.

There may be existing local laws on the books regarding porn that should be enforced, things like zoning laws that prohibit operating a porn shop in a residential neighborhood or near a church or school, selling porn to minors, engaging minors in the production of porn, sending porn via the mail or via the internet to people who didn’t buy it and don’t want to see it; performing pornographic sex acts in public; those things are reasonable and do not inhibit anyone’s rights.

It should also be noted that most of the federal laws regarding porn are related to minors and broadcast media and violating a state’s or community’s standards. In other words, ordering a dirty movie at a hotel might be perfectly legal in one town or state but the same movie might be illegal in another. Most of the federal statutes concern interstate commerce wherein someone in one state transports such materials across state lines to another where it is illegal. With the internet and subscription only and pay per view cable and satellite serves, it’s much harder to enforce and the lines are often blurred and not strictly enforced and for good reason, as it can’t be absent overreaching federal statutes that overrule states’ rights and local laws. There is also the problem with what one community’s standards are vs. another. Say I take an art class and part of the class involves drawing the nude human body with or without a live subject. Some would say it was pornographic in nature where others would not.

What Santorum said:

“Current federal “obscenity” laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier. Rick Santorum believes that federal obscenity laws should be vigorously enforced. “If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so.”

He is wrong here and doesn’t, for a former lawyer and senator know very much about the law. The federal laws do not make it illegal to watch a porn film in a hotel room or the internet via a paid subscription or buy or rent a porno film from a local video store if my state or local jurisdiction has not deemed such to be illegal or buy a subscription to Playboy (or Playgirl) and have it delivered via USPS or UPS or FedEx.

That Santorum seems to think the first priority of appointing an AG is to crack down on porn tells me a lot about his priorities - that they are not in the right place. I’m a lot more interested in an AG that supports Constitutionally protected rights such as gun owner’s and property owner’s rights and business owner’s rights among a long list of other things that the current AG and administration has perverted. Watching porn in a hotel room is not one of them.

[usconservative]

Tell me, has our Government fixed the budget mess?

Addressed the staggering deficit?

How about fixed the National Debt issue?

What about fixing CRONY CAPITALISM, rampant in the Obama Administration?

Have we finally passed a National Energy policy?

What about the soaring price of fuel, food, and other commodities that people are struggling to pay for?

Have we fixed the tax code so jobs can FINALLY be created in this country?

What about our BROKEN EDUCATION SYSTEM, dominated by TEACHERS UNIONS that seek to dumb down our children while maximizing their pay and retirement benefits?

Have we fixed Health Care and repealed Obama-Care?

Is Social Security finally "fixed" and solvent?

What about MediCare? Is that fully funded going forward, or will someone be showing up at my door to euthanize Grandma because the system can't afford her anymore?

Seems to me we have a whole lot BIGGER PROBLEMS than the .05 of 1% of the porno perves in this country to worry about!

I was planning on voting for Santorum as a way to stave off Romney this Tuesday here in Illinois, but not after this, I'm going back to my ORIGINAL plan (and preference!) to vote for Gingrich.

Santorum IMO just demonstrated WHY he should never be President, period. After all his stump speeches about the Federal Government being too big and too intrusive, he goes and says something like this.

Absolutely incredible.

Go Gingrich!

[ncalburt]

You sound like a DU troll using terms like.
religious right

[arderkrag]

Major issue of the day!

Yep, right up there with demon jazz corrupting our youth.

[ohioWfan]

You could have said this exact statement any time during the eight years of the W administration. Why didn't you?

I'm amazed that you read every single post I wrote for eight years, hinkley.

I didn't know you were such a fan. :

btw, my actual point, lest you miss it, is that you didn't see everything I posted for eight years, making your accusation meaningless.

[Raider Sam]

You couldnt be more right.

Jazz led to blues
Blues led to rock
Rock led to metal
Metal led to Tipper Gore
Tipper Gore led to Al Gore having conservative bonafides
Al Gore’s bonafides led to VP Al Gore
VP Al Gore led to Global Warming
Global Warming led to Newt sitting on a couch
Newt sitting on a couch could lead to Obama II, which will corrupt the youth

[arderkrag]

Metal led to Tipper Gore

You shouldn't insult THE METAL that way.

VP Al Gore led to Global Warming

Well, he is full of hot air.

[ohioWfan]

I was referring to its more recent usage, hb, which has come from liberals (and continues to be used by them).

But this, of course, you knew......

[Longbow1969]

Sorry, many good, decent, honorable people disagree. We're the ones that have not become desensitized to civility, God and righteousness. We're the ones that don't want our sons and daughters being used by perverts to entertain other perverts. Porn IS a sin and it is bad.

How'd prohibition work out for ya? So many good, decent, honorable people thought banning the sale of alcohol would make us a more God fearing nation resulting in less spousal abuse, stronger families, men back in church, etc. Didn't work out that way at all.

Lots of things are sin. Lying is sin. Envy is sin. Not remembering the sabbath is a sin. The worship of other Gods is a sin. Doesn't mean we go around banning things. This is what church and family are for, not government regulation.

[ohioWfan]

Whether a person is addicted to alcohol, cocaine or pornograph, the Lord can take it so that it is no longer a burden to you.

Porn is highly addictive, and very problematic for a lot of men (and a few women). It causes destruction in their lives, their families, sometimes their work....

I'm not sure that it's not personal addiction that causes some of the irrational reaction against removing it from their lives that isn't the motivation for a few folks here.

It's a very real problem in our culture, and it needs to be addressed up front as such.

[going hot]

Some just don't realize the 1st Amendment is there to protect us, the people, not to give the gov't more power.

Giving the gov't power to remove "obscene" material from the net sounds righteous, without considering who decides what is righteous.

Imagine a gov't with the mentality of a raging liberal deciding what is obscene on the net, and therefore to be abolished.

[ohioWfan]

Anyone who doesn’t think he would try to force his religious beliefs on the entire country had better wake up.

Anyone who thinks he would force his religious beliefs on the entire country has been warped and brainwashed by the left.

You need to stop depending on MSNBC for your information about Rick Santorum.