How Trump’s Second Admin Can Take Down The Porn Industry

In the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump took the oath of office for a second time, swearing once again his allegiance to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. But what that Constitution means is being determined just east of the rotunda, in the marble halls of the Supreme Court, where a group of pornographers claiming the mantle of free speech are attempting to ensure that the president’s oath includes defending their ability to peddle obscene materials to children. 

They call themselves the “Free Speech Coalition,” but they’re just a trade association created to lobby for the porn industry. This month, they took Texas to the Supreme Court because the Lone Star State passed a law requiring obscene platforms to verify the age of their users before providing access. In oral arguments before the court last Wednesday, they contested that this somehow violates free speech.

Their claim is a ridiculous, bad-faith argument made by those who stand to profit from selling sex. The notion of First Amendment protection for obscenity offends anyone with common sense and makes a mockery of the Constitution.

Free speech protections are exactly what they sound like: protections for speech. They are not designed for obscene videos that don’t have literary or political merit. That’s not what our Founding Fathers, or hundreds of years of common law tradition, intended to protect. Our ancestors fought and died so the American people could offer political opinions, even controversial ones, at town meetings, not so Americans could freely engage in obscene acts in the public square, much less put today’s hardcore pornography in front of children. 

This view was held by almost everyone for 200 years of American history. In People v. Ruggles, a case before the New York Supreme Court in 1811, Chief Justice James Kent outlined this position clearly, writing: “Things which corrupt moral sentiment, as obscene actions, prints, and writings … are punishable because they strike at the root of moral obligation and weaken the security of the social ties.” 

As recently as 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese were operating a National Obscenity Enforcement Unit that successfully brought indictments against distributors of sexually explicit films, books, and magazines in conservative jurisdictions around the country.

So let’s be clear: The Supreme Court upholding Texas’ right to protect children by requiring pornographic websites to make sure their users are adults is essential, but it is just the first step back to sanity. It is the bare minimum to combat a global porn industry exploiting the innocence of American children to the tune of billions per year in revenue. 

Rampant accessibility to obscenity is an existential threat to the American way of life. According to a new report from Institute for Family Studies, nearly 1 in 4 teen boys now report watching porn at least once a day, more than twice as many as 10 years ago. Much of that pornography features violence, rape, domination and submission, or sex with children and underage teens. This content is not only horrifying, but repeated exposure to pornography makes children far more likely to exhibit problematic and unhealthy sexual behaviors later in life. Our founders understood that obscenity like this is not just immoral but harmful to the formation of a civic society that aims to produce strong and stable families, loving husbands, and duly respected mothers. 

To make America great again, we must be bold and brave enough to go on offense against obscenity. If Texas wins, Trump and conservative leaders across the country should work to make age verification a reality in every state. Additionally, Congress should take up similar legislation at the federal level. 

The administration should also task the Department of Justice with prosecuting porn producers and distributors, starting with foreign porn producers that flout our laws. Finally, the federal government should fully enforce laws against obscenity that are already on the books and work diligently to remove obscenity from the internet altogether. 

If Texas loses, it would be only a small setback. This movement is just getting started. The American people are with us on this issue. A recent American Principles Project poll found that 83 percent of registered voters favor common-sense age verification. They clearly want us to take a stand and go on offense. The well-being of our children and the destiny of our great nation depend on it. 

Kevin Roberts is the president of The Heritage Foundation.
Terry Schilling is the president of the American Principles Project.