Whereas, pornography is creating a public health crisis;
Whereas, pornography perpetuates a sexually toxic environment;
Whereas, efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction, to educate individuals and families concerning its harms, and to develop recovery programs must be addressed systemically in ways that hold broader influences accountable;
Whereas, pornography is contributing to the hyper-sexualization of teens, and even prepubescent children, in our society.
Whereas, due to advances in technology and the universal availability of the internet, young children are frequently exposed to what used to be referred to as hardcore, but is now considered mainstream pornography;
Whereas, a study of university students found that 93% of boys and 62% of girls had seen internet pornography during adolescence;
Whereas, this exposure is leading to low self-esteem and body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and greater likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior such as sending sexually explicit images, hookups, multiple sex partners, group sex, and using substances during sex as young adolescents;
Whereas, exposure to pornography often serves as children’s and youths’ sex education and shapes their sexual templates;
Whereas, because pornography treats women as objects, and commodities for the viewer’s use, it teaches girls they are to be used and boys to be users;
Whereas, pornography normalizes violence and abuse of women and children;
Whereas, pornography treats women and children as objects and often depicts rape and abuse as if they were harmless;
Whereas, pornography increases the demand for sex trafficking, prostitution, and child sexual abuse images (i.e., child pornography);
Whereas, potential detrimental effects on pornography’s users can impact brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional and medical illnesses shape deviant sexual arousal and lead to difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships, as well as problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction;
Whereas, recent research indicates that pornography is potentially biologically addictive, which means the user requires more novelty, often in the form of more shocking material, in order to be satisfied;
Whereas, this biological addiction leads to increasing use of pornography featuring themes of risky sexual behaviors, extreme degradation, violence, and child sexual abuse images (i.e., child pornography);
Whereas, pornography use is linked to lessening desire in young men to marry, dissatisfaction in marriage, and infidelity;
Whereas, this link demonstrates that pornography has a detrimental effect on the family unit;
Whereas, the obscenity industry considers the line of legality to be drawn by prosecutors, not by legislators, and pornographers in many parts of the country responded by self-regulating when federal obscenity laws were enforced;
Whereas, overcoming pornography’s harms is beyond the capability of the afflicted individual to address alone:
Now, therefore, be it resolved, That the Legislature of the State of ________ recognizes that pornography is a public health hazard leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms;
Be it further resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the U.S. Department of Justice and ______________District Attorneys to vigorously enforce federal and state obscenity laws against commercialized obscenity and calls upon Congress the address the crisis problem of children accessing pornography on the internet;
Be it further resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the need for education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal level in order to address the pornography epidemic that is harming the people of our state and nation;
Be it further resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent by the Clerk of _________________ to the Attorney General of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and each member of the ________________ congressional delegation.