Obscenity
Hearing In Washington, DC
As
Seen In The Free Speech Coalition's Newsletter
The Senate
Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil
Rights and Property Rights recently conducted an abbreviated hearing
where Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) presided and was the only senator
participating other than Russ Feingold, (D-WI) the ranking Democrat
on the subcommittee, who joined the meeting briefly.
Senator Brownback
has expressed strong opinions about the adult entertainment industry
and in particular has stated outrage over the recent decision
by federal District Court Judge Lancaster in dismissing charges
in the Extreme Associates obscenity case. This subcommittee meeting,
in which no bill was under consideration a fact which could help
explain the brevity of the meeting and why the members of the
subcommittee did not participate was rather transparently a forum
for Brownback to stir up interest in his cause.
Those testifying
included Patrick Trueman, the former head of the Justice Department’s
Child Exploitation and Obscenity unit under Presidents Reagan
and Bush; Robert Destro, a law professor at Catholic University
known for conservative positions on culture war issues such as
same sex marriage; and Frederick Schauer, a law professor invited
to testify by Senator Feingold. Schauer contributed substantially
to the Meese Commission Report on Pornography in the eighties,
by some accounts taking a more moderate position than some of
the other commissioners. The invited testimony was brief and the
opinions expressed widely divergent with little time for clarification.
This format provided little substance but served as a backdrop
for Brownback to express senatorial alarm over a variety of issues
involving adult entertainment. Brownback cited, for example, the
trafficking of women into sexual slavery, which was reported in
the Los Angeles Times in March (although not in connection with
the adult entertainment industry).
“We’re seeing
people trafficked into the pornography industry,” said Brownback.
On this and on other matters Senator Brownback appears obviously
misinformed about the nature of the industry and clearly could
benefit from some accurate information. After learning that the
hearing was scheduled, FSC (Free Speech Coalition) offered but
was denied the opportunity to provide a live witness for the subcommittee,
although FSC was allowed to submit written testimony.
