"[U]rge continued support for the U.S. Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. That section has been phenomenally successful in prosecuting obscenity and child pornography cases...[A]sk each candidate to release a statement clarifying where he stands...."In response to the resulting letters, Bill Clinton wrote:
"Hillary and I are concerned about the effects of exposure to violence, explicit sex and mixed moral messages on America's children--themes all too often depicted on television, in films and in print...Be assured that aggressive enforcement of federal obscenity laws by the Justice Department--particularly by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section--will be a priority in a Clinton/Gore administration."
I personally responded to Mr. Clinton's assurance with mixed emotions. I couldn't support his candidacy because of his stand on other issues, but I also felt that if he were elected, Morality in Media must work with him on the issue of obscenity law enforcement.
When Mr. Clinton was elected, we did all in our power to encourage him to fulfill his 1992 campaign pledge. In fact, I still remember getting an angry letter a year or two after his election accusing me of being a Clinton supporter.
Our efforts were to no avail. During the first six years of the Clinton administration, federal obscenity law enforcement declined by over eighty percent. In fiscal year 1997, there were only six prosecutions in which the lead charge was a violation of federal obscenity laws. In fiscal year 1998, the number was eight.
Worse yet, to our knowledge, there have been NO prosecutions initiated against major interstate distributors of hardcore pornography in several years.
I would like to believe (perhaps naively) that Mr. Clinton didn't lie in 1992. He served as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas, where ACLU madness has had less impact than in places like New York City and Washington, D.C. And, in the 1980s, a state prosecutor effectively enforced the state obscenity law in Little Rock. As the Arkansas Democrat (8 December 1985) described it:
"Since Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Piazza took office in January, seven of Little Rock's 10 adult theatres have closed without jury trials. Cases against the other three are still pending...Piazza said he is simply enforcing the state's obscenity statute and responding to the wishes of residents who live near the theatres.I suspect that after Mr. Clinton arrived in Washington, he quickly discovered that there was little interest in enforcing obscenity laws among the Democratic party's national elite. After all, the national elite then included individuals associated with the ACLU, ALA, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, People for the American Way, the Playboy empire and Hollywood."Piazza said laws are supposed to deter crime. 'It (the obscenity law) is a good one,' Piazza said...'As long as you let them know that you are going to pursue and enforce the law, then eventually they are not going to do business here and sell that stuff.'
"Earlier this year, Piazza and the owners of seven local video stores locked horns when Piazza sent them letters warning them to take their X-rated videos off the shelf or face prosecution...In a settlement filed in federal court, Piazza agreed not to prosecute if the stores removed videos...Piazza was quick to point out that he is only after 'hard-core pornography,' which depicts explicit sexual acts."
The scandals surrounding his administration would later make it difficult for him to pressure Attorney General Janet Reno to enforce obscenity laws. It isn't easy to champion a public morality cause when dogged by accusations of personal immorality.
But more than any other factor, his failure to fulfill his 1992 obscenity campaign pledge can be traced to his appointment of Janet Reno as Attorney General, because when Reno was the Miami State Attorney, she refused to vigorously enforce the obscenity law, despite the fact that Miami was awash in hardcore porn.
Whatever the explanations, two things are clear. First, Bill Clinton can't blame the failure on poor memory. MIM and other pro-decency groups ensured that he wouldn't forget. Second, he can't blame the failure on a lack of public support. In 1997, MIM commissioned Wirthlin Worldwide to conduct a national opinion poll. Eighty percent of adults supported vigorous enforcement of federal obscenity laws against hard-core pornography.
"Gershel proceeded to testify, but not about the subject matter of the hearing. He addressed only the DOJ prosecution of child pornography. Rep. Largent rapped the bench with his gavel. 'That is not what this hearing is about. The focus...is on the prosecution of obscenity, not child pornography. You may continue.' Gershel continued to testify--about child pornography. ....In her article, "You wouldn't know it, but porn is illegal: Prosecutions lagging during Clinton years" (Washington Times, 5 November 1998), Rachel A. Roemhildt wrote:"Then the Republicans laid in to Gershel...Rep. Largent asked: '[S]ince 1996, how many convictions have there been of individuals or corporate entities for obscenity violations and how many dollars in fines and forfeitures have occurred?'
"'We don't have those figures available,' Gershel said. 'I'd take an estimate,' pressed Largent. Gershel had none.
"'So, what happened to the million dollars that Congress appropriated to the DOJ to prosecute--not child pornography--but obscenity?' demanded Largent. Gershel said that the obscenity funds were spent on child porn prosecutions.
"Rep. Largent asked Gershel, 'Do you have any idea who the largest producers of hardcore, explicit material are?' Gershel could not name any.
"Rep. Chip Pickering asked Gershel to name one obscenity case brought by the DOJ. Gershel said they were listed in his written testimony. Rep. Pickering corrected him; his written testimony did not list any such cases. He asked again. Gershel consulted with another DOJ attorney. He still could not name one obscenity prosecution.
"Rep. Pickering also argued that 'a culture of obscenity leads to a greater culture and exploitation of children. [He] asked if there has been 'a rise in the exploitation of children and child pornography over the last three to four years.' Gershel replied that there has been a 'dramatic increase.'
"'One of the reasons I believe you have a dramatic increase is because of the lax...effort to address obscenity. They overlap. They are integrated. They contribute to each other. And until you address both, you are going to see a dramatic increase,' warned Pickering."
"Although sexually graphic material is easily found in magazines, videotapes and on the Internet, what most people don't know is that much of it is against the law...During Mr. Clinton's first term, however, prosecutions for obscenity plummeted. While Janet Reno fights 'kiddie porn,' on the Internet, the adult hard-core and illegal porn is left unprosecuted. Justice Department spokesman John Russell said the emphasis is on child exploitation 'because Attorney General Janet Reno wants it there. That is where our money and manpower are directed.' "
But most adults and children aren't looking for child porn. They are looking for hardcore pornographic materials that depict persons ages 18 and over, which is readily available through the U.S. mails and in "adult bookstores" and neighborhood videostores and on cable and satellite TV and on the Internet and telephone.
Obscenity causes incalculable harm to individuals of all ages, family life, communities and the nation. As the Supreme Court put it in a 1973 obscenity case, Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton:
"[W]e hold there are legitimate state interests at stake in stemming the tide of commercialized obscenity, even assuming it is feasible to enforce effective safeguards against exposure to juveniles...These include the interest of the community in the quality of life and the total community environment, the tone of commerce...and, possibly, the public safety itself...Quite apart from sex crimes, however, there remains one problem of large proportions...As Mr. Chief Justice [Earl] Warren stated, there is a 'right of the Nation and of the States to maintain a decent society'...The sum of experience...affords an ample basis for legislatures to conclude that a sensitive, key relationship of human existence, central to family life, community welfare, and the development of human personality, can be debased and distorted by crass commercial exploitation of sex." [Emphasis added]
In a day and age when commercial sources of hardcore pornography are no longer largely confined to inner city sleaze districts and under-the-counter sales, it is virtually impossible to "enforce effective safeguards against exposure to juveniles."
But even if it were possible to shield minors, that would not end the problem because pedophiles frequently use "adult pornography" to desensitize and instruct their child victims.
Adult addiction to pornography also injures and ruins countless marriages, including many with minor children involved.
Most "adult pornography" is also "youth oriented." Most guys don't purchase porn that depicts older women. In fact, many prefer 18 year olds who look like they are age 15; and, of course, at least a few of the "18 year olds" are in fact, minors.
"During a meeting of the Free Speech Coalition [a trade association for the porn industry], Jeffrey Douglas warned us that the eight-year free ride we have received at the federal level is probably about to end." AVN, April 2000."We've all heard the campaign speeches by now and we're just beginning to get a glimpse of the probable nominees and even the eventual winner in the biggest popularity contest in the world: The election of the President of the [U.S]...How likely is it...that we are going to enjoy the same benevolent neglect that the industry has enjoyed under Janet Reno." Kat Sunlove, Free Speech Coalition chief lobbyist, AVN, March 2000.
"Shortly after Reagan gave his second inaugural speech, then-Attorney General William French Smith...established the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, whereupon Reagan appointed Ed Meese as Attorney General to take charge...In July 1986, the government released...[the Commission's] Final Report...Meese promptly created the Obscenity Enforcement Unit which...was to create havoc on the entire adult industry...until President Bush was defeated in 1992." Clyde Dewitt, Esq., author of AVN's "Legal Commentary," May 1999.
"With a more relaxed Justice Department...some of you retailers felt free not only to carry adult, but to market the product...And the best news of all...is the breadth of product available to you...Fresh new adult magazines generate big profits...If you believe the Internet, WebTV and fiber optic delivery of video software directly to consumers' homes will affect your [neighborhood retail] business, think again...It's human nature to want to shop...Besides, the adult mail order companies thrive and so do you!" Paul Fishbein (publisher), "It's a great time to be an adult retailer," AVN, March 1998.
"[T]here have been fewer federal prosecutions of the adult industry under the Clinton administration than under Reagan and Bush, and since if elected Clinton will be a lame duck with no reason to change his hands-nearly-off porn policy, vote for him." Mark Kernes, "Business or No Business, That's the Choice in November," AVN, October 1996.
"As the Internet issues continue to rage...I keep thinking how wonderfully surprising the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions have been. It's quite probable the Court will uphold the Third Circuit's preliminary injunction against enforcing the 'Communications Decency Act'...Notwithstanding, there is still a very important Presidential election coming up, and the future of the Supreme Court depends on it. If Clinton wins, you get four more years of this sedate political climate concerning speech issues...The need to vote (for Clinton, mind you) is greater than ever." AVN, September 1996.
"An optimistic note was sounded by the next speaker, David Wasserman, an attorney and 1st Amendment activist...(In an interview after the meeting Wasserman added that his sense of the direction that will be taken by the Justice Department's Obscenity Section is that changes will be made, backing off from the ferocity and multiplicity of attacks instigated by [Obscenity Section] leaders Rob Showers and Patrick Trueman, but that the adult industry should 'expect it (the change) to be quietly done.'") AVN, March 1994.
"Janet Reno has been crowned the Attorney General...without one dissenting vote...Ms. Reno is well-educated, articulate, principled, loaded with integrity and, given her years of experience as State Attorney in Miami, unquestionably in touch with a proper perspective on American problems...There were only two questions during the two days of confirmation hearings bearing upon the obscenity issues...Draw your own conclusions! But obscenity prosecutions certainly will not have the priority with General Reno that existed in the two last administrations." Clyde DeWitt, AVN, March 1993.
During the Reagan and Bush administrations,the Justice Department successfully prosecuted child pornographers and large-scale purveyors of obscenity; and, in the process of effectively enforcing the obscenity laws, collected millions of dollars in fines and forfeitures to offset the costs of enforcement.
What was accomplished during the Reagan/Bush years can be accomplished again, but it will take a president and attorney general who understand the harms that pornography causes and who mean business about enforcing federal obscenity laws.