Letter to the President

By: American Decency Staff

Letter to President Bush from many pro-family organizations “… our nation also faces a growing moral crisis, giving rise, among other things, to teen promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases (including AIDS), abortions, children born to single mothers, divorces, sexual abuse of children, sexual harassment, rape, and trafficking in women and children. …” A brief personal note: With the failure to make the enforcement of obscenity laws a national priority, pornographers are realizing their dream: the normalization of pornography. With this normalization goes the faltering of societal morality and the increased difficulty for parents to protect our children from degradation. The following letter was signed by many pro-family organizations. It was mailed in recent days. [See URL for a complete list of signees.] ============================ September 10, 2007 President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500 Re: APPOINTMENT OF NEW U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL AND OTHER MATTERS REGARDING VIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL OBSCENITY LAWS Dear President Bush: We understand that our nation faces many pressing problems, including the threat of terrorism; but our nation also faces a growing moral crisis, giving rise, among other things, to teen promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases (including AIDS), abortions, children born to single mothers, divorces, sexual abuse of children, sexual harassment, rape, and trafficking in women and children. The human and taxpayer costs associated with these and other problems are incalculable. It is clear that the explosive increase in the availability of pornography is fueling this moral crisis. It is also clear that there are federal obscenity laws already on the books that can be enforced against hardcore pornography and that the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld these laws. From 1987 to 1993, major progress was made in enforcing federal obscenity laws against commercial distributors of hardcore “adult” pornography. Federal obscenity laws were also strengthened by the enactment of the Child Protection and Enforcement Act of 1988. In 1996 Congress clarified that use of an interactive computer service to transport obscene materials is prohibited. But while we applaud the progress your administration has made to-date in the war against obscenity, even the pornographers themselves expected to see far more curtailment of obscenity by now. In fact, the pornographers began preparing for a full retreat not long after your election, based on the successful efforts that had been implemented against obscenity during your father’s term in office. Our purpose in writing this letter is to encourage you to take steps necessary to bring about significant progress in this war against obscenity before your second term ends. You have spoken movingly about the need for cultural renewal; we believe that taking needed action now to clean up the glut of obscenity that pollutes our cultural environment would be a worthy legacy for your administration. … For full letter see: https://americandecency.org/main.php?f=updates_new/2007/September/9.11a.07 To receive a petition, call 1-888-733-2326 or email me at: bjohnson@americandecency.org The petition reads in part: PETITION TO THE NEW U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: PLEASE ENFORCE FEDERAL OBSCENITY LAWS AGGRESSIVELY! The U.S. Supreme Court has held that obscene material is “unprotected by the First Amendment” and that there are “legitimate governmental interests” at stake in stemming the tide of obscenity, “even assuming it is feasible to enforce effective safeguards against exposure to juveniles.” It is all too clear, however, that we have failed miserably in protecting children from pornography. …. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 PH: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org

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