Legislating Internet Porn

[Baron1710]

Originally Posted by ILG

So, do you think if we legalized meth, cocaine, and marijuana, we'd be better off?

That isn't the discussion. An argument can be made for that however we are not talking about things that are illegal we are talking about things that are legal.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Baron1710

That isn't the discussion. An argument can be made for that however we are not talking about things that are illegal we are talking about things that are legal.

We aren't in court, Baron.

An allegory comparison can often be made that may not be an exact comparison but food for thought can be gleaned from comparing the two subjects. And, since porn works like a drug, I think it is a legitimate comparison and we can see clearly using that example how there are different tiers made for different classifications of drugs etc.

I am just as leary as the next guy about the government being given and inch and taking a mile. But, we need to be realistic too. Do you know why the subprime mess happened? Because they REPEALED the glass-steagall act put into effect after the great depression and it opened the door WIDE OPEN for companies like Citi and others to take great advantage of the system. We need SOME regulations.

[Twisp]

Originally Posted by ILG

We aren't in court, Baron.

An allegory comparison can often be made that may not be an exact comparison but food for thought can be gleaned from comparing the two subjects. And, since porn works like a drug, I think it is a legitimate comparison and we can see clearly using that example how there are different tiers made for different classifications of drugs etc.

I am just as leary as the next guy about the government being given and inch and taking a mile. But, we need to be realistic too. Do you know why the subprime mess happened? Because they REPEALED the glass-steagall act put into effect after the great depression and it opened the door WIDE OPEN for companies like Citi and others to take great advantage of the system. We need SOME regulations.

It still isn't a good analogy. You are trying to compare an illegal activity with a legal activity. Caffeine is a drug, you should try and compare caffeine to porn, that would make more sense, since both are legal.

[whoami]

I'm with Hoovie, I think this could be a good option to have, but I'm always hesitant to hand the government more control. I don't want to regulate the activities of adults.

But having been a curious teenager with internet access at certain places I can tell you that firewalls, filters, etc. can be easily bypassed by a tech savvy kid. And there are LOTS of free sites that don't require credit cards and are easy to get into, and show some very sick stuff 'abnormal' stuff that makes normal "penetration showing" hardcore porn seem very vanilla in comparison.

So, I can see both sides of the argument. Not sure that I would trust our government enough to vote for an option like this if it actually came up on a ballot, but if a private company could actually stop it at the source, I think this would be handy for parents with kids using the computer.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Twisp

It still isn't a good analogy. You are trying to compare an illegal activity with a legal activity. Caffeine is a drug, you should try and compare caffeine to porn, that would make more sense, since both are legal.

I think it is a good analogy. You have legal drugs, illegal drugs, drug addiction and money incentives for people to push it.

You have legal porn, illegal porn, porn addiction and money incentives for people to push it.

Caffeine is very mild and doesn't have the same effect as porn.

[Twisp]

Originally Posted by ILG

I think it is a good analogy. You have legal drugs, illegal drugs, drug addiction and money incentives for people to push it.

You have legal porn, illegal porn, porn addiction and money incentives for people to push it.

Caffeine is very mild and doesn't have the same effect as porn.

Again, you cannot compare illegal instances with legal instances. They play by a totally different set of rules.

Yes, illegal instances should be policed, rules against illegal instances should be enforced, and money should be spent against illegal instances.

That has no bearing on legal instances, simply because they are not in the same categories..

A good analogy would be for the government to keep any sugary foods from entering households, simply because kids might become obese. There would be an opt-in for parents that want sugars in their household.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by Twisp

Again, you cannot compare illegal instances with legal instances. They play by a totally different set of rules.

Yes, illegal instances should be policed, rules against illegal instances should be enforced, and money should be spent against illegal instances.

That has no bearing on legal instances, simply because they are not in the same categories..

A good analogy would be for the government to keep any sugary foods from entering households, simply because kids might become obese. There would be an opt-in for parents that want sugars in their household.

Once again, I would like to know exactly what is legal and illegal porn. I know playboys are legal but I don't know the answer after that. So, you have both legal and illegal porn on the internet. And then, spitting on the sidewalk is still illegal in some places, but nobody cares.

[Twisp]

Originally Posted by ILG

Once again, I would like to know exactly what is legal and illegal porn. I know playboys are legal but I don't know the answer after that. So, you have both legal and illegal porn on the internet. And then, spitting on the sidewalk is still illegal in some places, but nobody cares.

Have you tried looking it up? I am sure you could google it. Perhaps that would help your analogies.

Here is a good jumping off point for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornogr...tates#Legality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_s...#United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test

[MissBrattified]

Well, I never saw a single porn magazine when I was growing up; not at my house, and not at my friend's houses. The one time I did see a pornographic video was a Japanese anime film that one of our neighbors was watching while I played with her daughter. I was shocked, and left the house--I think I was about 13. I never told my parents.

So I understand that porn has always existed, and has always been accessible to some extent. However, it has NEVER been as accessible as it is now, and yes, there are free sites that offer streaming porn. I won't list the link here, but I'm aware of at least one in particular.

I DO agree that online, you pretty much get what you go searching for. However, I would like it if my children couldn't access it even if they went searching for it. We have good filters on their computers, but as they get older, that interferes with research and access to some sites they actually need, so I sometimes have to turn the filters off. *sigh*

I realize that at some point they will probably be exposed to it, but I'm not happy about that, and I certainly don't view it as some sort of *harmless* part of growing up. Hard core and fetish pornography is a twisted representation of sex between a married couple, and further, I think sexuality should be explored in the marital bed; not online or in magazines with pictures and videos of someone besides your spouse. I am completely against couples using pornographic images and videos to "spice up" their love life, and it always shocks me when Christians find these types of things acceptable.

But, I digress.

I'm suspicious of the government's motives in this as well, because we certainly don't want them filtering out other sites that they deem politically incorrect, etc. Hoovie's right; if private companies would handle the opt-in process, that would be a superior option. That said, I'm in support of the idea.