"Donald Trump has signed a pledge to crack down on pornography if he's elected president, according to a group that campaigns for the enforcement of federal laws that arguably criminalize distributing images of sexual activity among consenting adults. Porn business owners say they doubt that the thrice-married Republican candidate who once posed for the cover of Playboy magazine actually would bring down the hammer, even if his signature on the document does appear authentic.
Much of the pledge drafted by Enough Is Enough deals with child exploitation. Its aim can be confusing at first, though it does specifically address federal obscenity laws and the possible societal harms of pornography in "whereas" clauses and in the pledge itself. In signing, the group says Trump promised to steer more resources toward prosecutions and to appoint an attorney general who would make enforcement of federal obscenity laws – along with laws against child abuse and child pornography – "a top priority."
"We wanted it to be easy to say yes to and hard to say no to," says Enough Is Enough's president and CEO, Donna Rice Hughes. "This entire sex industry is tied together, so it's like fighting the drug war ... just completely ignoring the obscenity laws [but combating child porn] would be like saying, 'We've got a war on drugs, but we're only going to concentrate on meth and heroin.' That's not going to do a very good job."
Though theoretically possible, pornographers say they aren't concerned about Trump putting them out of business or in jail. "I'm not too worried that the ultimate misogynist Donald Trump would enforce the obscenity laws, as I'm quite sure he has no idea what they are," says Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, a large pornography company.
Michael Lucas, a self-identified gay conservative and CEO of the gay porn company Lucas Entertainment, is similarly unconcerned. "We hear the same kind of dialogue about porn every time a Republican runs for office, and those puritanical promises are quickly forgotten after the election," he says. "If Trump is actually concerned about protecting Americans from obscenity, he may want to earnestly consider that suggestion to delete his Twitter account."
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-01/trump-gets-hard-time-from-pornographers-over-anti-obscenity-pledge
Much of the pledge drafted by Enough Is Enough deals with child exploitation. Its aim can be confusing at first, though it does specifically address federal obscenity laws and the possible societal harms of pornography in "whereas" clauses and in the pledge itself. In signing, the group says Trump promised to steer more resources toward prosecutions and to appoint an attorney general who would make enforcement of federal obscenity laws – along with laws against child abuse and child pornography – "a top priority."
"We wanted it to be easy to say yes to and hard to say no to," says Enough Is Enough's president and CEO, Donna Rice Hughes. "This entire sex industry is tied together, so it's like fighting the drug war ... just completely ignoring the obscenity laws [but combating child porn] would be like saying, 'We've got a war on drugs, but we're only going to concentrate on meth and heroin.' That's not going to do a very good job."
Though theoretically possible, pornographers say they aren't concerned about Trump putting them out of business or in jail. "I'm not too worried that the ultimate misogynist Donald Trump would enforce the obscenity laws, as I'm quite sure he has no idea what they are," says Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, a large pornography company.
Michael Lucas, a self-identified gay conservative and CEO of the gay porn company Lucas Entertainment, is similarly unconcerned. "We hear the same kind of dialogue about porn every time a Republican runs for office, and those puritanical promises are quickly forgotten after the election," he says. "If Trump is actually concerned about protecting Americans from obscenity, he may want to earnestly consider that suggestion to delete his Twitter account."
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-01/trump-gets-hard-time-from-pornographers-over-anti-obscenity-pledge
