CLEVELAND — As party delegates gather here to formulate their principles during the Republican National Convention, a subcommittee on healthcare, education and crime has approved an amendment that declares porn a “public health crisis.”
The new drafted amendment, which may be added to the national party’s 2016 platform, reads, “Pornography, with his harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions. We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and wellbeing.”
The new label that identifies porn as a “public health crisis” was first proposed by North Carolina delegate Mary Frances Forrester.
The full Republican committee — made up of two delegates from each of the 56 delegations including all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories — is set to take up the report on porn from the subcommittee on Monday and Tuesday, with the final platform expected to be set Tuesday afternoon.
Industry attorney Lawrence Walters of Walters Law Group said, "This proposal is out of step with the American public and would result in a pathetic waste of resources.”
“The ‘War on Porn’ was lost years ago, and most adults have come to accept erotic media as a fact of life,” Walters told XBIZ. “Reigniting this frivolous policy position will alienate more voters than it attracts, in my view."