AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

January 16, 2020

Issue

Lack of Federal Law Enforcement Against Obscenity Must Stop

Details Recently four Republican members of the US House – Jim Banks, Mark Meadows, Vickie Hartzler and Brian Babin — sent a letter to US Attorney General William Barr

asking him to enforce the existing federal obscenity laws in order to curb the too easy access to hardcore porn.  This enforcement was stopped under the Obama administration when former Attorney General Eric Holder disbanded the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in the Criminal Division.  As a result, we have seen an increase in violence against women, human trafficking and child porn. 

Action Steps Contact the Department of Justice and ask Attorney General Barr to declare the prosecution of obscene pornography a criminal justice priority.  You can call the DOJ Comment line at 202-353-1555 or use the contact form  here     When choosing the “general topic of your message” scroll down to “Message to the Attorney General” near the bottom of the scroll down menu.      

Here are some ideas as to what to say in your message.  Feel free to use one or parts of all:

  1. There are federal laws on the books that prohibit the distribution of obscene pornography on the Internet, cable and satellite TV, in hotels and motels, by retail or wholesale establishments and by common carrier.  These laws have not been enforced for years and this has had a negative impact on our nation.  Please put the enforcement of these laws as a top priority for the DOJ.

  2. Violence against women, sex trafficking, and child pornography are all negatively impacting Americans and this must be addressed by the Department of Justice.  Too many are becoming addicted to online porn and acting out what they have seen.  There have even been cases of children accessing online porn and sexually assaulting other children as a result of their exposure to porn.  This all must stop and the DOJ needs to stop up and enforce the federal obscenity laws. 

  3. Almost daily we read stories of someone being arrested for possession of child pornography.  There has been a drastic increase of child porn since the federal obscenity laws have not been enforced.  In most communities, parents can no longer safely allow their child to walk one block to a friend’s house to play or walk home alone from the bus stop because of the fear of their child being abducted and quite possibly become a victim of sex trafficking.  American parents should not have to fear for their children like this.   The Department of Justice must make enforcement of the federal obscenity laws a top priority.

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