Many Republicans, especially the ones in the Religious Right, are going after pornography. This is not a new thing either. In February, Utah tried to get pornography declared as a “public health crisis.”
Utah GOP Senator Todd Weiler said that pornography is worse than cocaine. The text of the bill said in part:
“Pornography is a public health hazard leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms.”
The 2016 GOP platform doesn’t mention gun violence or climate change. However, there is plenty in there about pornography.
It somehow got lumped into a section of the platform called: “Ensuring Safe Neighborhoods: Criminal Justice and Prison Reforms.” Yes, they lumped pornography into the section about prison reform.
There is a complete lack of logic here. Pornography featuring adults is not a crime, and no one should get sent to prison for it.
Here is an excerpt from the platform document:
“Pornography, with its harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the lives of millions. We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and well-being.”
Twitter users have offered plenty of mockery at this news:
https://twitter.com/BenjaminChemist/status/755238342304763904
The GOP platform targets porn, but Trump was literally on the front cover of Playboy once. https://t.co/rLrkK76NPT
— The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) July 15, 2016
Trump is a public health hazard… https://t.co/r4yIaObdcQ
— Kelly W Knox (@kwknox50) July 15, 2016
Republicans: "Let's BAN pornography because it's a public health crisis!"
Republicans: "You're saying..guns are a problem? Hold on there!"— Sam Da Man (@SlimMadrox304) July 17, 2016
The Republican fight against porn has been happening off and on for years. Ronald Reagan once made fighting pornography a top priority. He commissioned a report on the matter; it ended up being 1,960 pages.
Reagan said:
“We and the vast majority of Americans are repulsed by pornography. We will vigorously enforce constitutional laws to control obscene materials which degrade everyone, particularly women, and depict the exploitation of children.”
This ban has likely come up again because of recent studies saying that pornography harms people. Some porn does depict misogyny, but that doesn’t mean that the people who view it are misogynists. As long as it is away from children I’m all for it.
Here is a video of the Young Turks covering it:
