Yesterday, I posted about a study that suggested child porn may reduce the incidence of child sex abuse. Child pornography is a topic that nearly always evokes a socially programmed irrational reaction of shock and discomfort. To even discuss the merits of child porn laws can put you on the fast track to alienation by even your closest friends. Fortunately, having no friends gives me a distinct advantage in that regard. Yes, that was humor.
Laws that criminalize the mere possession of child pornography violate ethical legal principles in several ways.
- Someone who merely possesses child porn cannot be blamed for the creation of that material if he played no active role in its creation. While production of child porn using real children can rightly be called child abuse, someone who obtains the material after the fact is not a party to it’s creation.
- Child porn is not evidence that someone is willing to sexually abuse a child anymore than possession of adult porn is evidence that someone is willing to rape a woman. Minority Report is fiction, not reality. The American justice system cannot legitimately punish someone for a crime they have not yet committed, so punishing someone for possession of child porn on the presumption that such material identifies them as likely to commit a future crime is not Constitutional. For every case where the media or advocacy groups try to tie a sex crime to pornography, there are literally millions of examples of porn consumers who have not committed or shown any interest in committing any crime. The proof is overwhelming that porn does not generate crime. In fact there is growing evidence that the wide spread availability of porn has reduced crime.
- The possession of child porn does not make someone an accomplice to the production of future child porn. The logic behind child porn possession laws is that one’s interest in child porn, as evidenced by their possession of it, generates a market that will lead to the creation of more of it. This is, again, punishing someone for supposedly committing (actually just encouraging) a crime sometime in the future. A free country does not punish citizens for crimes that haven’t happened yet and it doesn’t punish people for crimes in which they played no knowing role.
- Child porn possession prosecutions are not motivated by the intent to protect children from sex abuse. Congress has repeatedly attempted to use child porn laws as a means to criminalize activities that don’t involve children at all and prosecutors routinely charge child porn arrestees under obscenity laws because no children were involved in the creation of the material. Such material includes that which uses young looking adults, graphic arts, computer generated imagery, or even non-illustrated text. The clear intent is not to punish people for injuring children, but to punish the mere fantasy of sex with children (ie: thought crime). Indeed, simulated child porn is prosecuted as vigorously as child porn that uses actual children in its production clearly showing the complete lack of concern about whether children were harmed.
- Last, but not least, and independent of any of the above arguments, the First Amendment to the Constitution states that Congress shall make no law “abridging freedom of speech, or of the press“. There is no exemption for obscenity or pornography. No law means NO LAW. While Congress and the Supreme Court have invented numerous exceptions to the Bill of Rights, they can only do so with the acquiescence of the public. Government cannot legally ban expression without a Constitutional Amendment. As we know, of course, government will do whatever it can get away with.
In a free country, what you think is your own business. Criminal law should be based solely on injurious conduct toward others. Laws against possession of child porn or obscenity are not about injurious conduct toward others. They are meant to punish thought crime.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing in this post should be construed to be legal advice. Furthermore, and it is unfortunate that the current lynch mob mentality requires this, I am not and never have been physically attracted to children, do not own or trade in any child porn, nor do I advocate that anyone else do so.
A problem is that the very word “porn” may be conveniently defined to promote somebody’s pet idea of political correctness. If an image shows a child being physically harmed or in emotional distress, then such an image is clearly evidence of some form of abuse. But such images are legal and laughingly exhibited on TV and traded by parents as long as the kids aren’t nude. In contrast, an image of a happy, smiling child is widely considered evidence of “abuse” if the child is nude or posing sexually.
I don’t feel comfortable about images of children being physically or emotionally abused even if the images were artificially produced. I don’t advocate punishing fantasy, but I am disturbed (frightened) by abuse even in fantasy – when the “abuse” is actual physical or emotional harm, not a mere violation of disguised religious precepts.
Here’s an interesting example of when the crack down against child pornography goes terribly wrong:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335618/Innocent-grandfather-gassed-hours-child-porn-police-raided-home.html
Some of the comments on the post Richard linked are disgusting; one wonders how those who say, “the police must act like Gestapo on even the faintest shred of evidence of ONE SINGLE CHILD in another country being endangered” would feel if it was one of their family members (or themselves) who had been treated thus. The attitude displayed in those comments reflects a “guilty until proven innocent” mindset.
I was planning to post a comment under the article Richard linked to. I hate it that they don’t tell you that you have to register to post a comment until AFTER you submit a comment. I submitted the following comment, but decided against registering, so it was not posted:
I find it stunning that people don’t even question the legitimacy of child porn possession laws. Simply having pictures of children is not evidence that someone has injured or is willing to injure a child. Child porn doesn’t make someone a child molester anymore than adult porn makes someone a rapist. And, no, possession of child porn does not make someone responsible for future production of child porn by creating a market for it. Since when do free countries punish future crimes anyway?
When it comes to child porn, the people who should be targeted by law enforcement are the people who produce it and only when they use actual children (which excludes simulated child porn). Just because it’s easier to target (and set up) those who merely possess it, doesn’t make it smart. It’s a waste of resources and doesn’t make children safer. The law should punish conduct, not fantasies.
In this climate of paranoia, just the mention of “saving children” makes people stupid.
Excellent point.
I like your website.
I found this website called human-stupidity.com that raises concerns similar to yours.Have you visited that one?
I’ve never been to that site before, but that article is referring to the same study I posted about here.
The site you link to has some very detailed analysis of the criticism of the report. Looks like it would be worth while reading.
Yes,websites like yours and that one are only some of the small number of sites that are trying to face the problem rationally.Better few,than none.
Child abuse obviously needs to stopped,but what has possession of child porn got to do with it is beyond me.
Another blog making some valid points-
http://open.salon.com/blog/patrick_j_kelly/2010/02/19/the_pedophile_witch
Just found your site. We seem to have very similar opinions and should remain in touch.
Read on my site, feel free to comment. Let us stay in touch.
I like the name of your site. Pedohysteria is another good name ……
I wasn’t really planning to focus on such topics, but this is one of the major human-stupidities around, so I ended up writing lots about these sexual topics
Good luck with your site.
Try to get it set up better, I could not find a list of your posts, only by going from post to post could I find other posts.
Hi, feminists are just downvoting my post at reddit mens rights into oblivion.
I very much appreciate if you try to save mens Rights and help giving positive votes
Can you help upvoting this here, it is getting buried by feminists and sexhysteria people. down to below zero!!
http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/ekgz0/legalizing_child_pornography_reduces_child_sex/
also see here
Here it does not get downvoted, but this new reddit group has not much supporters.
http://www.reddit.com/r/mensrightsmovement/comments/ekh06/legalizing_child_pornography_reduces_child_sex/
Never mind, it was removed from the first MensRights group. So it has to go to the second group, mensrightsmovement.
also see here
http://www.reddit.com/r/mensrightsmovement/comments/ekh06/legalizing_child_pornography_reduces_child_sex/