House Concurrent Resolution 8 - Introduced HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8 BY SALMON A Concurrent Resolution recognizing the public health 1 hazard of pornography and its harmful proliferation 2 on the internet and calling for vigorous enforcement 3 of obscenity laws and steps to address the crisis of 4 easily accessible pornography on the internet. 5 WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes that 6 pornography is creating a public health crisis and 7 perpetuates a sexually toxic environment; and 8 WHEREAS, efforts to prevent pornography exposure 9 and addiction, to educate individuals and families 10 concerning its harmful effects, and to develop recovery 11 programs must be addressed systemically in a manner 12 that holds broader influences accountable; and 13 WHEREAS, pornography contributes to the 14 hypersexualization of teens and prepubescent children 15 in our society; and 16 WHEREAS, due to advances in technology and the 17 universal availability of the internet, children are 18 frequently exposed to what used to be referred to as 19 hard-core pornography but is now considered mainstream 20 pornography; and 21 WHEREAS, a study of university students found that 22 93 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls have viewed 23 pornography during adolescence; and 24 WHEREAS, this exposure leads to low self-esteem and 25 body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual 26 activity at younger ages, and a greater likelihood 27 of engaging in risky sexual behavior such as the 28 -1- LSB 1134YH (8) 88 ko/rh 1/ 4

H.C.R. 8 transmission of sexually explicit images, hookups, 1 multiple sex partners, group sex, and the use of 2 substances during adolescent sex; and 3 WHEREAS, exposure to pornography often serves as 4 sex education for children and youth and shapes their 5 sexual templates; and 6 WHEREAS, because pornography treats women as objects 7 and commodities for the viewer’s use, it teaches girls 8 they are to be used and teaches boys to be users; and 9 WHEREAS, pornography often depicts rape and abuse as 10 being harmless; and 11 WHEREAS, pornography fosters less egalitarian 12 attitudes and promotes more hostile sexist attitudes 13 of men towards women, increased acceptance of rape 14 myths, greater likelihood of sexual harassment or 15 sexually coercive and forceful behavior by adolescents, 16 increased male sexual aggression towards women, more 17 pronounced male sexual aggression against women by men 18 who are frequent consumers of pornography or who use 19 violent pornography, and increased verbal and physical 20 aggression among both male and female consumers of 21 pornography; and 22 WHEREAS, pornography increases the demand for sex 23 trafficking, prostitution, and child sexual abuse 24 images; and 25 WHEREAS, potential detrimental effects on users of 26 pornography can impact brain function and development, 27 contribute to emotional and medical illnesses, shape 28 deviant sexual arousal, and promote problematic or 29 harmful sexual behaviors such as harmful child-on-child 30 -2- LSB 1134YH (8) 88 ko/rh 2/ 4

H.C.R. 8 sexual behaviors that occur in school and homes and on 1 playgrounds or others settings; and 2 WHEREAS, recent research indicates that pornography 3 is potentially biologically addictive, which means the 4 user requires more novelty, often in the form of more 5 shocking material, in order to be satisfied; and 6 WHEREAS, this biological addiction leads to an 7 increased use of pornography featuring themes of risky 8 sexual behaviors, extreme degradation, violence, child 9 sexual abuse images, and child pornography; and 10 WHEREAS, pornography use is linked to difficulty 11 in forming or maintaining intimate relationships, a 12 lessening desire in young men to marry, dissatisfaction 13 in marriage, and infidelity, demonstrating that this 14 link has a detrimental effect on the family unit; and 15 WHEREAS, the obscenity industry considers the 16 line of legality to be drawn by prosecutors, not by 17 legislators, and pornographers in many parts of the 18 country self-regulate when state and federal obscenity 19 laws are enforced; and 20 WHEREAS, overcoming the harm of pornography is 21 beyond the capability of the afflicted individuals to 22 address alone; NOW THEREFORE, 23 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE 24 SENATE CONCURRING, That the General Assembly recognizes 25 that pornography is a public health hazard which 26 leads to a broad spectrum of individual and societal 27 harms; recognizes the need for education, prevention, 28 research, and policy changes at the local, state, and 29 national levels to address the pornography epidemic 30 -3- LSB 1134YH (8) 88 ko/rh 3/ 4

H.C.R. 8 that is harming the people of our state and nation, 1 and calls upon the United States Department of Justice 2 and members of the federal, state, and local criminal 3 justice system to vigorously enforce federal and 4 state obscenity laws against commercialized obscenity 5 and upon Congress to address the crisis of easily 6 accessible pornography on the internet; and 7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 8 Resolution be sent to the Acting Attorney General of 9 the United States Matthew Whitaker, Majority Leader 10 of the United States Senate Mitchell McConnell, Jr., 11 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 12 Nancy Pelosi, and each member of Iowa’s congressional 13 delegation. 14 -4- LSB 1134YH (8) 88 ko/rh 4/ 4