WASHINGTON (BP)–The multifaceted effort to restrict the distribution of pornography has moved forward on two fronts: the United States military and prisons.
The Department of Defense announced it had banned 153 sexually explicit magazines from being sold or rented at DOD facilities, such as commissaries, exchanges and ship stores. The DOD’s action is the first step in fulfilling a 1996 law originally titled the Military Honor and Decency Act.
A federal appeals court, meanwhile, ruled another 1996 measure that blocked the distribution of sexually explicit publications in prisons is constitutional. The legislation had been blocked by a federal judge’s 1997 ruling that it violated the First Amendment rights of prisoners and publishers.
The list of magazines determined by a DOD board of review to be sexually explicit includes Hustler, Penthouse and Playgirl. The board ruled, however, Playboy and 13 other magazines it reviewed are not sexually explicit under the law. The board consists of eight civilians, six men and two women, according to a report by The Baltimore Sun.
The board is still reviewing videos that may be sexually explicit. The DOD asked military exchange officials to forward to the board any video or audio recording they consider potentially to be sexually explicit. The DOD bars X-rated videos from its stores, The Sun reported.
According to the law, sexually explicit material consists of a video, film, audio recording or periodical the “dominant theme of which depicts or describes nudity, including sexual or excretory activities or organs, in a lascivious way.”
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R.-Md., chief sponsor of the legislation, said in a written release, “It’s about time, but it’s sad that the military had to wait for an act of Congress and more than two years of litigation up to the Supreme Court before it could become a responsible employer and remove this garbage from DOD store shelves.
“I am especially pleased that the department’s memo recognizes that their work in implementing the law will be ongoing. The way I read the regulation it invites customers at the exchanges to request reviews of material that they believe may be sexually explicit. That’s a very positive and important step, and I applaud the Defense Department for doing that.”
Some proponents of the ban criticized the review board for failing to remove Playboy when the DOD released the lists Sept. 21.
The law went into effect in late June when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the legislation.
A federal judge in New York ruled the law unconstitutional in early 1997 after the publisher of Penthouse filed suit. In November of last year, the Second Circuit overturned the lower court ruling but did not enforce its opinion while waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether to review it. The high court’s refusal lifted the injunction.
Army and Air Force stores averaged selling $12.6 million in adult magazines each year, Bartlett’s office said in 1997, citing Larry Phillips, a spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Military commissaries and exchanges are owned and operated by the federal government.
The law does not prevent members of the military from possessing sexually explicit material, subscribing to it or purchasing it off base or by mail, telephone or computer.
A three-member panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 15 in favor of a ban on sexually explicit magazines in federal prisons. It was a 2-1 decision, according to The Washington Post. Judge Stephen Williams wrote in his opinion, “Common sense tells us that prisoners are more likely to develop the now-missing self-control and respect for others if prevented from poring over pictures that are themselves degrading and disrespectful. Nor can we find irrationality in a congressional fear that pornography may set back rehabilitation in the narrower sense, more directly related to recidivist activity.”
Rep. John Ensign, R.-Nev., who authored the measure, said in a written statement “allowing sexual predators to view pornography makes absolutely no sense at all. I crafted the amendment to bring some common sense to our criminal justice system, and it’s very satisfying to see it upheld.”
The appeals court ruled, however, the inmates and publishers who brought the suit may move forward with a separate challenge that the law is vague, The Post reported. The case was returned to the federal judge who struck down the law for review on that basis, according to the report.
Under the law, inmates may not receive the magazines even if they pay for them, according to The Post.
Unlike the military’s review board, the Bureau of Prisons found Playboy sexually explicit.
