Letter to our Senators

Here is the text of our letter on censorship, signed by embre and I and sent to our Senators. For those that would like to send a similar letter, feel free to cut n' paste what I have written if you like.

A phone call is even easier, and takes less than a minute.

All the info you need is at www.congress.org.



"Dear Honorable Senator:

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter.

My wife and I have written to you on a number of occasions, always with words of support for your policies. Today we write to you to voice our concerns about misguided priorities in Washington, as well as a disturbing assault on First Amendment rights.

When we heard that the Attorney General had created an FBI task force to investigate obscenity, we were shocked by this misappropriation of government resources. With the threat of international terrorists at large here and abroad, this is an absurd choice of priorities. I can’t help but recall the months just prior to 9/11, when John Ashcroft’s top priority was his war on porn. It was during this time that Al Qaeda was orchestrating the most devastating attack against our homeland in our nation’s history, all under the radar of the Department of Justice.

It is well known that a conservative, evangelical base has been pressuring our government to shut down the pornography industry, simply because it doesn’t compliment their own vision of a “Christian America”. HR 3132 is an example of government sponsored censorship, cleverly concealed as a “Child Protection Act”. My wife and I both wish to see child pornography prosecuted and eradicated wherever it is found. However, using a noble cause for disingenuous purposes is the nadir of political intrigue.

Our concern is that the religious right is using their ample influence with President Bush to dismantle First Amendment rights preserved in our Constitution. And while pornographers like “Max Hardcore” and “Extreme Associates” may disturb us with their brand of misogynistic media, we are more afraid of Christian fundamentalists who wish to control what we can read, watch or write in this country.

To us, adult material, created by consenting adults, does not weaken the fabric of our society. On the other hand, making such material illegal because a majority “doesn’t like it”, sets a dangerous precedent, and undermines the important role of free speech in this country.

We hope that you will embrace most, if not all of the beliefs we have expressed here, and challenge these threats to the First Amendment.

Respectfully..."