WASHINGTON D.C. – Concerned Woman for America, an ultra-conservative pro-censorship group, has announced that its chief counsel Jan LaRue spoke Thursday at a forum for congressional staff on the topic of obscenity law enforcement. LaRue, a staunch opponent of adult entertainment, was to be joined by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Rep. Mike Pence (R-ID), Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PN), Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), Citizens for Community Values President Phil Burress, and Daniel Weiss of the pro-censorship group Focus on the Family. Panelists will speak in support of “Victims of Pornography Month,” an ongoing attempt by right wing activists to blame adult entertainment for everything from divorce rates to low property values and family financial problems.The hearing took place on Thursday from 9:00 AM EDT – 11:00 AM EDT at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2322.

“Victims of pornography have many different faces,” claimed LaRue in a CWA press release. “They are recovering addicts, who frequently lose their families, jobs and homes because of it. The wives and children who are left emotionally and financially bankrupt. Residents in the vicinity of porn stores, who watch their property values and neighborhood quality plummet. Children in public libraries who view illegal pornography on an unfiltered computer.”

“That’s why we support the DOJ’s efforts to increase obscenity enforcement, such as its recent announcement of the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force earlier this month. And prosecution should include mainstream hotel chains, cable and satellite companies and credit-card companies that market and finance illegal porn. It’s the best way to prevent more tragedies that result from distributing this garbage,” said LaRue.

Attorney Jeffrey Douglas, chair of the Free Speech Coalition and Chairman Emeritus of the First Amendment Lawyers Association, took exception to LaRue’s comments about the role of adult entertainment in society.

“Adult entertainment, disparagingly called pornography by the private censorship industry, is created for and by consenting adults,” Douglas told YNOT. “There are no victims. Under the Constitution, citizens are allowed to choose what they read, view and fantasize about. That is an essential to a free society. Jan LaRue and her ilk want people to consume only materials which her ideology approves. In the real America, if you do not like materials you do not buy them. In Jan LaRue’s America, a small group of zealous true believers should have the power to ban the materials they do not like.”

First Amendment attorney Larry Walters of FirstAmendment.com said the comments by LaRue, and the forum itself, show that right-wing activist groups are making progress in securing the ears of politicians.

“If there was any doubt as to what is fueling the recent DOJ efforts and focus on adult-oriented material, this forum should clear things up,” Walters told YNOT. “There can be no disputing the fact that these censorship groups are fueling the effort with their inflammatory and false rhetoric about the alleged effects of viewing erotica. Not once has any representative of the affected industry been invited to present any balanced information at one of these events or hearings, and our government appears committed to proceeding in this area with virtual blinders strapped to its head…remaining intentionally ignorant of the lack of evidence of harm or negative impacts caused by adults viewing sexually explicit media.”

In addition to obscenity law enforcement, the summit was also scheduled to discus the topics of corporate participation and violence against women. The summit was sponsored by the Beverly LaHaye Institute, the American Decency Association, Citizens for Community Values (CCV), Concerned Women for America, the Center for Reclaiming America, Enough is Enough, Focus on the Family, Kids First Coalition, Morality in Media, the National Law Center for Children and Families, and the Salvation Army.