Thank God we have Congressman to worry about these things for the rest of us

Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia is concerned that after a hard day being seeing people shot, maimed and blown up, US soldiers will be corrupted by Playboy magazine. He has a particular, if inexplicable, interest in prohibiting portrayals of "the anal cleft" and "excretory activities in a lascivious way" Who'd have thought it?:

April 17, 2008

Washington D.C.- U.S. Congressman Paul C. Broun, M.D. announced today the introduction of legislation designed to stem the sale of pornography on military installations. Broun’s legislation, the “Military Honor and Decency Act,” closes a loophole in current law that is allowing the sale of sexually explicit material on American military installations located both within the United States and around the world. Although the “National Defense Authorization Act of 1997” expressly prevents the Secretary of Defense from permitting the sale or rental of sexually explicit material on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense (DoD), subsequent regulations adopted by the Department of Defense have continued to allow the sale of sexually explicit material to occur. Congressman Broun’s legislation closes these existing loopholes in DoD regulations to bring the Department into compliance with the intent of the 1997 law so that taxpayers will not be footing the costs of distributing pornography.

“As a Marine, I am deeply concerned for the welfare of our troops and their mission,” said Broun. “Allowing the sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by: escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes; feeding a base addiction; eroding the family as the primary building block of society; and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad. Our troops should not see their honor sullied so that the moguls behind magazines like Playboy and Penthouse can profit. The ‘Military Honor and Decency Act’ will right a bureaucratic--and moral--wrong.”

Congressman Broun’s legislation makes the following specific changes to current law:

· Modifies the current definition of sexually explicit, to lower the threshold required to deem material sexually explicit.

· Adds a new definition of “principal theme” which makes it clear to the DoD that the threshold has been lowered.

· Adds a definition of “lascivious” that is broader than what is included in the DoD Instruction on the sale of sexually explicit material.

· Adds a definition of “nudity” that makes it much more difficult for the DoD’s Resale Activities Board of Review (RABR) to approve the sale of sexually explicit material.

· Requires that DoD annually review material that is not currently deemed sexually explicit (and therefore allowed) to determine if it should be prohibited. RABR failed to meet a single time between FY 2000 and 2005.

Congressman Broun’s legislation is officially designated as H.R. 5821 and has already attracted 15 cosponsors.

For your convenience, a copy of the legislation has been attached.

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