|
opinion
Fight
real, not imagined crime
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision Tuesday, rejected part
of a child pornography law that, from the moment it was passed,
was destined to be a lightning rod for controversy.
The decision was a victory for the rights of free speech,
given that it came from the same group of nine that selected
George W. Bush as president.
The court found fault with the part of the law that made it
a crime to depict the representation of sexual acts by minors,
without regard to how it is represented.
If strictly applied, the law would have covered the filmed
depiction of sexual acts by actors portraying minors, even
though the actors themselves were of age (which is the law
anyway).
So, every coming-of-age story that tried to depict the burgeoning
sexuality of adolescence would be classified as child pornography.
Films such as "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and
"American Pie" would go from the comedic cannon
to the societal ashcan.
Though it would be nice to blame this silly law on Attorney
General John Ashcroft and his "thought police" at
the Department of Justice, the law dates back to 1999 and
the "look-how-middle-of-the-road-I-am" presidency
of Bill Clinton.
Ashcroft did express disappointment with the decision, saying
that it will make it harder to prosecute child pornographers.
Seems the government will have to come up with an alternative
to its usual sledgehammer method of law enforcement.
You know, where the government smashes its legal hammer down
and counts how many cockroaches are killed as proof of its
good works, overlooking all of the incidental ants squashed
as well.
The other aspect covered by the decision was the digital manipulation
of images to simulate child pornography.
This includes taking an image of a child and superimposing
it onto a sexual image. While tasteless and deplorable, this
falls under the spectrum of victimless crime.
The government should be focusing its crime-fighting efforts
on those who actually abuse and exploit children for sexual
purposes.
Based on a recent scandal, there seems to be a centuries-old
religious institution that needs some looking into.
There is enough actual crime for the government to be seeking
out without cracking down on potential, virtual or simulated
crime.
Phil Witte is a journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.
|
|
Phil
Witte
- Witticisms
-
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
