Porn and Prostitution

Here is an excellent discussion of the precarious distinction between being a porner and a panderer. Issues that will soon be decided in FL in the Ray Guhn case.

Morality and Law

According to this article (nsfw):

Following are overall results for the single question asked in the survey — “Do you consider it to be morally acceptable to view pornographic websites and videos?”:

Yes — 21 percent No — 73 percent Not Sure — 4 percent Refuse to answer — 2 percent

According to the poll, women more frequently had a negative opinion of adult entertainment, with 81 percent of those surveyed saying they found it morally objectionable. On the other hand, 44 percent of men ages 18 to 34 said they have no objection to adult websites.

Morality in Media wasted no time issuing a press release claiming the poll proves a majority of Americans would like to see an end to adult entertainment, and other conservative groups and media outlets, such as Concerned Women for America and CitizenLink, issued similar press releases and editorials.

But it does not follow that people want to see an end to adult entertainment. There are many people who do not believe the law should dictate morality, even some of those who answered the survey. For example many people feel divorce is morally wrong, though they would not want to see a law against it. Looking at the GSS (statistically much better than any Harris Poll) we see that generally only about 40% of people feel there should be laws against the distribution of pornography whatever the age. And the trend has been ever so slightly downward

Which of these statements comes closest to your feelings about pornography laws?
	1973-2004	1973-1989	1990-2004
There should be laws against the distribution of pornography whatever the age	40.1	41.5	38.4
There should be laws against the distribution of pornography to persons under 18	54.7	52.2	57.8
There should be no laws forbidding the distribution of pornography	5.2	6.3	3.8

Morality in the Media carefully avoid actually calling for new laws rather they actually point out that the current obscenity standard appeals to the local community mores, which they argue the Harris poll clearly establishes.

Keywords: Porn, Surveys, BUS230, ECO307