Letter to your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative urging support of obscenity law enforcement

I am one of your constituents, and I am writing today to ask you to support enforcement of the Federal obscenity laws. If you are not familiar with these laws, a summary can be found at ObscenityCrimes.org.

Opinion polls have shown consistently that large majorities of the American people believe our nation's moral decline is one of the most important issues facing the country, and a driving force behind this decline is the flood of illegal hardcore pornography pouring into our communities and homes and children's minds.

This flood has happened in large measure because Federal obscenity laws have been unenforced.

Obscene materials are not protected speech; indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has said, "This much has been settled by the Court -- that obscene material is unprotected by the First Amendment." (Miller v. California, 1973). The Supreme Court has also said, "There is a 'right of the Nation and of the States to maintain a decent society.' " (Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slayton, 1973)

The Attorney General must develop an obscenity law enforcement strategy, and direct Federal law enforcement agencies, especially the FBI and the 93 United States Attorneys, to cooperate in implementing the strategy.

The Congress needs to allocate adequate resources to the effort.

Individually, you must speak out publicly about the obscenity problems in our state (and the nation) and urge our U.S. Attorney to enforce the obscenity laws. If our U.S. Attorney is fulfilling his or her responsibilities, he or she should be publicly commended; if not, he or she should be publicly rebuked.

Millions of adults and teens are addicted to pornography. The harm done shows up in the statistics on failed marriages, the sexual exploitation of children, rape, and sexually transmitted diseases. The "industry" that feeds this destructive addiction is also an offense to decency and an embarassment to our nation.

Vigorous enforcement of our constitutional obscenity laws will reduce the number of such tragedies and the need for programs that deal with them at great cost to the nation's public resources. Enforcement will also send a message that the United States understands the difference between cherished liberty -- and ruinous license.

I would appreciate a response to this letter.

Sincerely,