Statement of William A Stanmeyer on October 5, 1979, Concerning the Bill to Recodify Federal Criminal Laws (From Reform of the Federal Criminal Laws, Part 15 - Hearings Before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, First Session on S. 1722 and S. 1723, P 10819-10850, September 11, 13, 18, 20, 25,

• NCJ Number: 73018
• Author(s): W A Stanmeyer
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 32 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislative/Regulatory Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Arguments in favor of Federal legal controls on pornography are given in testimony on a bill to recodify Federal criminal laws.

Abstract

Legislators do not understand the psychologically damaging content of today's pornography. Pornography explicitly portrays violence as a permissible and essential aspect of sexual pleasure. Bestiality, sex with children, rape, and homosexuality are vividly portrayed as aspects of sexual pleasure. Since the impact of role models, literature, and audiovisual experiences on human behavior is generally acknowledged, there is no reason to believe that pornography would have less of an impact on behavior, particularly since it involves a basic human drive. Numerous cases can be cited where absorption in pornography preceded criminal sexual behavior. Even if it could not be established that pornography causes sex crime, the psychological harm it causes makes it a deadly threat to society's future, such that strong laws against it are justified. Just as laws are passed to protect the quality of the environment and secure citizens against unsafe products, so should laws be established to control influences that threaten psychological health and basic behavioral norms. Only the Federal Government can effectively dam the flood of pornography, since its production and distribution are supervised by a nationwide crime syndicate.