I am concerned

In 1953 when the first Playboy magazine was published, America was not plagued with somebody’s child or wife being raped every 3.8 minutes. Our children were not being stolen from our playgrounds and shopping centers. Many of these stolen children have later been found to be the victims of sexual molestation and then murdered.

Before the first Playboy magazine, we did not have 460,000 children missing each year. Teenagers were not programed to accept promiscuous lifestyles. There were not 750,000 unwanted teenage pregnancies per year. We did not have an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases. There was not a 200% increase in teenage suicide. We are plagued today by these and other shocking facts since the release of Playboy magazine into our society. Could pornography be one of the main reasons why America is faced with such problems? Lest you do not understand my concern, pornography is not just a nude body in a magazine or on an electronic screen. It is perversion.

Consider the following facts:

1. Since the United States relaxed its obscenity laws in the early 1960s, reported rapes are up from 9.6 per 100,000 individuals to 43.6 per 100,000 individuals. That is an increase of 354%. This number is actually higher since 65% of rapes go unreported.

2. 72.5 million unique IP addresses worldwide have been identified as sharing and downloading sexually explicit images and videos of children.

3. According to the NIH, 90% or more youth between 12 and 18 years have access to the internet. Concern has been raised that this increased accessibility may lead to a rise in pornography seeking among children and adolescents, with potentially serious ramifications for child and adolescent sexual development. 65% of boys and 30% of girls have seen pornography by the time they are 11 years of age. The majority of youth (87%) who admit searching for sexual images online are 14 years of age or older.

I have been told that I do not have the right to speak out against pornography. It is protected by the First Amendment - Freedom of Speech as defined by the Miller Test. The Miller Test is the U.S. Supreme Court's three-part legal standard from Miller v. California (1973) to determine if material is legally obscene and therefore unprotected by the First Amendment.

Three conditions must be met for material to be deemed obscene. 

1. It appeals to prurient interest.

2. It depicts sexual conduct offensively as defined by state law.

3. It lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

If it were not so serious, it would be laughable to think that anyone would say that pornography is not described in all three of these conditions. 

State laws concerning pornography vary and are supposedly based upon community standards. The pornography peddlers can come into our community and home without being invited and will not leave unless forced, which is seldom because the “community” must speak out. Yet, I see and hear of the women and children who have been abused, beaten and trafficked for rape by those who feed upon pornography. We the people, not only have a right to prevent this vile, disgusting material from spreading in our community; but we have a moral obligation to remove it.

In Ezekiel Chapter 3:17-19 the Lord charges the prophet with the duty of being a watchman. He is to warn the people of the danger of sin. If the prophet fails to obey God’s command, then the people will still suffer the consequences of their sin, but the prophet will be punished for his failure to proclaim the danger.

Do we have the right to speak out against evil that exists in this world and in our communities? We do not only have the right, we have the obligation as commanded by God. We MUST speak out! If we refuse, the blood of these innocent victims will be on our hands.

Parents: Speaking out begins at home. Almost every disappointed parent has at one time said, “My child would never…” It is not a matter of not trusting your child. It is a matter of protecting your child. Your children will make childish decisions because they are children, not because they are evil. Parents must make the grownup decisions for their children. Protect them!