Louisiana Passes Religious Republican's New Anti-Porn Law

Louisiana Passes Religious Republican's New Anti-Porn Law

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Senate on Monday unanimously passed new legislation creating more liability for adult websites, introduced by the religious Republican lawmaker behind the state’s controversial age verification law.

As XBIZ reported, in April the Louisiana House voted 101-1 to pass House Bill 77. The bill would “let the state attorney general pursue civil penalties against companies that do not comply with a law that requires pornography websites to verify the age of its users,” the Louisiana Illuminator reported.

HB 77 was introduced by faith-based therapist and local politician Laurie Schlegel (R-Matairie), the anti-porn activist behind Louisiana’s controversial Act 440, which took effect Jan. 1 and requires “age verification for any website that contains 33.3% or more pornographic material.”

Schlegel has claimed that “pornography is destroying our children and they’re getting unlimited access to it on the internet.”

HB 77 calls for “investigation and pursuit of actions for commercial entities that knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute material harmful to minors and that fail to perform reasonable age verification.”

If the bill is signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), the Louisiana attorney general will be able to investigate pornographic websites and fine any that do not comply with the AV law up to $5,000 a day, the Associated Press reported. Sites that ‘‘knowingly failed” to follow the law would face additional civil penalties of $10,000 per violation.

The bill was backed by all of Louisiana’s Democratic senators and most Democratic representatives, the second time in a few weeks that Democrats have backed potentially industry-crippling anti-porn bills created by a coalition of religious Republican politicians and powerful religiously-inspired pro-censorship lobbies. Last week, the Texas legislature mandated that all adult sites post a warning comprised of anti-porn propaganda points, with virtually every Democratic legislator voting alongside the sponsoring Republicans.

Republicans throughout the country are currently seeking to outlaw all adult content by overturning the 1973 “Miller Test” differentiating First Amendment-protected sexual material from illegal “obscene” material produced to appeal to “a prurient interest.”

To define “material harmful to minors” in the legislation, Louisiana’s Rep. Schlegel expanded a Miller Test reference to “sexual conduct” into her own feverish fantasy of what such content might entail.

For the religious therapist and Republican politician behind the Louisiana bill, “sexual conduct” apparently involves “prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion” and “an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.”

Main Image: Rep. Laurie Schlegel

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eremote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eremote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

MyAdultAttorney's Corey D. Silverstein to Hold Post-Election Legal Impact Webinar

Industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein will hold a “Legal Impact” webinar titled “We Have a New U.S. President: Legal and Community Implications” on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. PST.

Pornhub Shuts Down Access in Oklahoma Over Age Verification

Aylo began geo-blocking Pornhub across Oklahoma on Tuesday, three days in advance of the state’s new age verification law, SB 1959, taking effect.

Show More