Coalition for War on Illegal Pornography’s Washington Anti-Porn Presentation Big on Fear, Short on Fact

In ton-dc-anti-porn-conference-and-concerns-about-content/">our Porn Myths post we pointed you to the speaker schedule for Tuesday's anti-porn presentation by "Coalition for War on Illegal Pornography," a group consisting of various small organizations seeking to convince US lawmakers that their point of view on pornography is the only valid one to consider when lawmaking. The speakers presented various points to some elected officials and Obama administration representatives. Their main thrust was stating opinions that illegal pornography is being made in California, and while some STD statistics were cited, no hard proof was produced for lawmakers' edification. It is unclear as to whether any of the audience asked where the presenters' information came from.

AOL News wrote a piece that in all fairness can only be called biased, though of the writing done about the "Coalition for War" event, they are unfortunately the only source which does not present a conservative Christian viewpoint on the presentations. Here's a snip from Activists Urge Government Crackdown on Pornography:

WASHINGTON (June 15) -- Anti-pornography activists gathered at the Capitol today to urge Congress to enforce existing laws governing obscenity and pornography.

During a panel discussion sponsored by the Coalition for War on Illegal Pornography, a loose group of national organizations, speakers urged legislators and the Obama administration to crack down on the adult entertainment industry, which they say openly flouts existing U.S. obscenity laws.

"Obscenity is not to be confused with soft-core pornography," said Donna Rice Hughes, president of the nonprofit Enough Is Enough, pointing out that Playboy magazine is protected speech but "Debbie Does Dallas" is likely not. "Because obscenity laws have not been enforced, illegal 'adult' pornography has flooded and polluted the Internet."

(...) According to Hughes and several other speakers, the Supreme Court has ruled that most so-called hard-core pornography is illegal if it depicts sexual conduct, appeals only to the "prurient interest" and is judged to violate contemporary "community standards." (...read more, aolnews.com)

Pornography is legal in the United States, and the laws are strictly enforced (with regular FBI raids, even) on porn makers in California. It is clear that these groups rely on public lack of awareness regarding the legality of pornography, and intend to continue blurring the line between legal and illegal sexual activity to serve the anti-porn agenda. It is deeply unfortunate that no counterpoints to the statements or views expressed by "Coalition for War" were presented to lawmakers or provided in press coverage, despite the minority status of these groups and their viewpoints. Considering that this is the nexus of the anti-porn arguments, these views deserve to be challenged.

Image by tos/alexdram/">Alex Dram.