Republicans in Congress are touring the wagons in support of a Texas law that protects children from “one of the greatest public health crises of the digital age: Internet pornography.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), along with 20 other members, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court. , which was first obtained by Breitbart. News that supports the law.
The authors of the brief argue that the court should uphold the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' March 2024 decision upholding the age verification requirement.
A Texas law passed in 2023 requires adult websites to show users a state-issued ID. This was challenged in court by a trade group calling itself the Free Speech Coalition, which represents the adult entertainment industry, and argued that it violated First Amendment rights to free speech.
The court brief, known as a “friend of the court” brief, asserts the law's constitutionality and its importance in protecting public health.
“Companies are profiting from exposing children to adult content, and this must stop,” Lee said in a statement provided to Breitbart. “This effort by Texas mirrors the age-verification measures I am fighting at the federal level with the SCREEN Act, and American families around the world will support these efforts to protect children online. .”
Lee's cleverly named Protecting Children's Retinas from Harsh Online Exposure (SCREEN) Act is the Utah senator's lead effort in the Senate to protect children from the harms of pornography. It was submitted in response to this.
His ally Roy, from Texas, where the fight started, controls the House of Representatives.
“Governments have a clear and unquestionable obligation to keep children away from pornographic sites,” Roy said in a statement provided to Breitbart. He said that relatively free access to the United States had caused great harm to our country. “Texas law accomplishes this by simply requiring adults to prove their age, as is the case with age-restricted products. That's why I hope Attorney General Paxton's case will prevail in the Supreme Court. I am proud to represent him alongside Mike Lee.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-Texas) argued in a brief to the Supreme Court that there was “nothing unconstitutional” about the law.
“This law does not prohibit the performance, production, or even sale of pornography; more modestly, it simply requires the pornography industry to use commercial We are simply asking that they take reasonable steps to resolve the issue,” Paxton wrote.
The court brief explains why its authors are interested in the issue and argues that the law is in the public interest.
“As members of Congress, they have a vested interest in drafting and passing legislation that protects children from Internet pornography, one of the greatest public health crises of the digital age,” the brief says. “Recognizing the well-documented negative psychological, behavioral, and health effects caused by children's exposure to pornography, courts restrict minors' access to such content. I am proposing and supporting the bill.”
The brief further explains: “Amici, a passionate defender of both First Amendment rights and the welfare of children, believes that age-verification laws such as this create a conflict between individual freedom and the government's compelling interest in protecting children from pornography. It strikes the right balance, and we believe it will be done in an appropriate manner,'' in conjunction with this court's precedent. ”
Camera-friendly Amicus Br. Mike Lee et al., Free Speech Coal. v. Paxton 24.11.22 by Breitbart News On Scribd
Lee, Roy, and other authors conclude with a strong argument for regulation of the porn industry.
Currently, the porn industry's global annual revenue is estimated at $97 billion. Its revenue over the past 20 years has exceeded the revenue of all three major sports leagues combined. As a convincing contemporary indicator, “[p]The Ohnography website receives more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined. ”
As well as unprecedented revenue and traffic numbers, pornography has never posed such a greater risk to minors. Minors can so innocently encounter content on the web and subsequently be exposed to trauma.
Here is the complete list of amici:
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), and Sen. Rick Sen. Scott (R-Fla.), and Reps. Chip Roy (R-Fla., Texas), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.). Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Tony Gonzalez (R-TX). -Texas), Lance Gooden (R-Texas), Andy Harris (R-Maryland), Clay Higgins (R-Los Angeles), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) -Texas), Ronnie Jackson (R-Texas), Mary Miller (R-Illinois), Troy Neals (R-Texas), Andy Ogles (R-Texas), Keith Self (R-Texas) -Texas), and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
