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Three Leading GOP Presidential Nominees Pledge To Be Tough On Porn

Last October, Morality In Media (MIM), the “leading national organization opposing pornography and indecency through public education and the application of the law,” launched an effort to get presidential candidates in both major parties to commit to strict enforcement of obscenity laws. In both face-to-face meetings and written statements, three candidates made this pledge: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum.

Here are the three statements the candidates provided to MIM promising to be tough on porn:

Former Senator Rick Santorum in a written statement:

“Federal obscenity laws should be vigorously enforced. If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so.” Former Governor Mitt Romney in a written statement:

“(I)t is imperative that we cultivate the promotion of fundamental family values. This can be accomplished with increased parental involvement and enhanced supervision of our children. It includes strict enforcement of our nation’s obscenity laws, as well as the promotion of parental software controls that guard our children from Internet pornography.”

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich in a face-to-face meeting:

When MIM’s Executive Director Dawn Hawkins asked former Speaker Gingrich if he will enforce existing laws that make distribution of hard-core adult pornography illegal, he responded: “Yes, I will appoint an Attorney General who will enforce these laws.”

Patrick Trueman, MIM’s President and a former Department of Justice official in the Reagan and Bush I administrations, said that “our nation is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography that is readily available,” and that “pornography is a common cause of the destruction of marriage. It leads to misogyny and violence against women and is a contributing factor in sexual trafficking.”

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Whatever one’s view is on pornography and obscenity, one would hope that if the GOP candidates can take the time to endorse MIM’s war on porn, that they could also endorse progressive policies that would be guaranteed to strengthen families. These include mandating paid vacation days — the United States is the only developed nation that lacks them — sick leave, parental leave, and other policies that allow families time to spend together.

Update:

ThinkProgress has previously explained how right-wing efforts to vigorously enforce obscenity laws would effectively ban all pornography.