Readers here are well aware of our strong position that the government has no business dictating the sex lives of its citizens. This includes criminalizing what we choose to read and watch. The very essence of freedom is the freedom to be obscene and the freedom to create that which some find offensive. Remove everything that is offensive to some, and you eliminate the free exchange of challenging ideas, and the very engine that creates new ideas and new paradigms.

The current administration understands that there is no huge cry to go after the makers of adult entertainment, except from the far right Christian conservatives. Unfortunately, the Attorney General of the United States is one of their truest believers. For him, it is a holy mission, sanctified by God. Ironically, going after porn producers has typically been a cynical ploy by prosecutors to gain political points with their conservative constituency, and they usually make a lot of noise about it. Now, however, given the public’s apathy, they are doing it remarkably quietly.

True, there has not been as much time to devote to the cause of denying people the right to see and hear what they choose, what with America being at war to defend our democracy and way of life and all. Even so, things are moving forward, with many of those being prosecuted forced to keep quiet about as part of their deal with prosecutors to go more lightly on them if they name names of others in the business. Reports are that many people are cooperating.

After years of ignoring it, the government is beginning its attack with a quiet vengeance and the same old lies. ``If there had been continued federal prosecutions,'' says prosecutor Bruce Taylor, ``you wouldn't see the Internet presence of the porn syndicate as big as it is today.`` This inference that adult sites are a part of some organized crime “syndicate” is unfounded, untrue, and simply inflammatory.

Having been left alone by the Clinton administration, the adult industry is now in quite a dither. Industry lawyer Paul Cambria has drawn up a list of taboo subjects he believes will lead to prosecution, including scenes of sex between black men and white women. Considering Attorney General Ashcroft’s history with the black community, that might be as cautiously realistic as it is inherently racist. 

Adam Glasser, who goes by the name Seymore Butts, stands trial this month in Los Angeles in what has been a circus in the preliminaries. Initial arguments revolved around whether accepted lesbian activities in the lesbian community are obscene when shown in a video targeted to a heterosexual market. In fact, the video in question was intended for European markets (yes, they get the uncensored versions of both our porn and mainstream movies). It was accidentally shipped to dealers in the States and even recalled. In a hugely expensive case for all concerned, Glasser is charged with misdemeanor obscenity. This is your tax dollars at work, thanks to pressure from the Attorney General.

The LAPD has also recently raided JM Production, charging owner Jeff Steward on suspicion of obscenity. Max Hardcore is being tried for child pornography. No, he did not use under-age actors, but they appeared to be under age, which is the underlying premise behind the prosecution.

At the recent InterNext show, one of the recurring themes in the seminars was the concerns about renewed prosecutions. Attorneys suggested that it was very likely that the Patriot Act may be used to make it easier to go after people in the adult industry without requiring things such as probable cause or notification when raiding someone’s business or home. 

As our country battles abroad to preserve our freedoms, we here at home must be equally vigilant to protect our rights from an administration that is working on many fronts to erode them. Vigilance is the price of freedom, and if we don’t act, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Send a contribution to one of the many fine organizations that fight for freedom of expression, such as the Free Speech Coalition or People for the American Way. Write your Congressman or Representative expressing your belief that tax dollars should be better spent than on attempts to prosecute people in the adult industry who make products enjoyed by millions of Americans. Write letters to the editor. Make it clear that the fight against terrorism is a fight against the very ideas held so dearly by the Taliban; that the government can tell you what to read and see and think. There is no clear agreement in this country that adult materials should be banned, and no genuine scientifically accepted research showing any overarching reason why our free speech rights should be so dramatically narrowed in this one area. 

Constitutional Rights experts are now warning that our rights could be dramatically curtailed in the next few years. The Miller test, an extremely flawed method of determining what is obscene, could be eliminated. Flawed as it is, it has been a powerful defense against obscenity charges. Without it, it could be a free for all, allowing juries in the most conservative pockets of this country to determine virtually anything obscene.  If we are not vigilant, the standards deemed appropriate by people living in Utah may apply to us all.
 

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