WASHINGTON, DC — Domestic terrorism. Torture. War crimes. Drugs. Five months into his tenure as U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder has a lot on his plate.Apparently Holder’s reported weight loss indicates to the Christian right the man needs more to eat. Last week, the AG received a letter requesting he make room in his schedule for one more item that simply must be addressed: “the scourge of pornography.” Four hundred people signed the missive.
“We are compelled to write to you and ask for an expansion of the administration’s efforts against the scourge of pornography,” the letter stated. “To discuss this issue further, we respectfully request to meet with you at the earliest opportunity.”
The groups and organizations represented among the signatories wish Holder to pay special attention to internet porn. The letter quoted Holder’s own 1998 remarks in attempting to hold the AG to what they understood to be a promise he would pursue cyberspace smut if ever given the opportunity.
“Because of the nature of the Internet and the availability of agents trained in conducting criminal investigations in cyberspace, investigation and prosecution of internet obscenity is particularly suitable for federal resources,” Holder wrote in a June 10, 1998, memo.
According to the meeting request, “Since the advent of the internet, illegal pornography has flooded homes, businesses, public libraries and even schools. The results have been devastating to America. Pornography addiction is now common among men, women and even many children…. America is becoming a ‘pornified culture’….”
The magnitude of the problem simply cannot be overstated, one signatory told CitizenLink.com.
“Pornography is a problem nationwide, and it’s a problem that needs to be addressed by this administration — and it needs to be addressed sooner than later,” said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “The internet has brought pornography directly into the living rooms and dens of most American homes.”
Despite increased anti-pornography enforcement efforts under the George W. Bush administration, the groups want even more action by the Obama administration. They have vowed not to rest until Holder addresses their concerns by stepping up federal prosecution of adult entertainment purveyors, according to Alliance Defense Fund Special Counsel Patrick Trueman.
“Adult pornography, which floods the market, floods hotels, motels, the cable industry, internet — these things are illegal under federal law,” he told OneNewsNow.com. “But the Justice Department, for years even through the Bush administration, has had a lax attitude. There’s going to be a number of organizations that are going to follow up with this letter, asking constituents to contact the Justice Department to press them on the prosecution of pornography.”
