1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 122nd Session, 2017-2018 3 4 H. 3887 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsors: Reps. Burns, Chumley, Thayer, McCravy, V.S. Moss and Loftis 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\bh\7118ahb17.docx 11 12 Introduced in the House on March 2, 2017 13 Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary 14 15 Summary: Pornography 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 3/2/2017 House Introduced ( House Journalpage 6) 22 3/2/2017 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary ( House Journalpage 6) 23 3/6/2018 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: McCravy 24 3/8/2018 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: V.S.Moss 25 3/12/2018 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Loftis 26 27 View the latest legislative information at the website 28 29 30 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 31 32 3/2/2017 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE PUBLIC 12 HEALTH HAZARD OF PORNOGRAPHY WHICH LEADS TO 13 A BROAD SPECTRUM OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL 14 HARMS, TO EXPRESS THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE 15 PORNOGRAPHY EPIDEMIC BY ENCOURAGING 16 EDUCATION, PREVENTION, RESEARCH, AND POLICY 17 CHANGES TO ADDRESS THE PROLIFERATION OF 18 PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET IN PARTICULAR, 19 AND TO CALL FOR REGULATION OF PORNOGRAPHY ON 20 THE INTERNET TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH 21 OBSCENITY LAWS OF THE STATE. 22 23 Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly 24 recognize that pornography is creating a public health crisis and 25 that it perpetuates a sexually toxic environment; and 26 27 Whereas, efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction, 28 to educate individuals and families concerning its harmful effects, 29 and to develop recovery programs must be addressed systemically 30 in a manner that holds providers accountable; and 31 32 Whereas, pornography contributes to the hypersexualization of 33 teens and even prepubescent children in our society; and 34 35 Whereas, due to advances in technology and the universal 36 availability of the internet, young children are exposed to what 37 used to be referred to as hardcore pornography but is now 38 considered mainstream pornography; and 39 40 Whereas, the average age of exposure to pornography is now 41 eleven to twelve years; and 42

[3887] 2 1 Whereas, this early exposure may lead to low selfesteem and 2 bodyimage disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at 3 younger ages, and an increased desire among adolescents to 4 engage in risky sexual behavior; and 5 6 Whereas, exposure to pornography often serves as sex education 7 for children and youth and informs their sexual templates; and 8 9 Whereas, pornography which depicts violence and abuse of 10 women and children tends to normalize such behavior; and 11 12 Whereas, pornography treats women and children as objects and 13 often portrays rape and abuse as if such acts are harmless; and 14 15 Whereas, pornography equates violence towards women and 16 children with sex, and pain with pleasure, which increases the 17 demand for sex trafficking, prostitution, child sexual abuse images, 18 and child pornography; and 19 20 Whereas, potential detrimental effects on users of pornography can 21 impact brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional 22 and medical illnesses, shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to 23 difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate 24 relationships, as well as promote problematic or harmful sexual 25 behaviors and addiction; and 26 27 Whereas, recent neurological research indicates that pornography 28 is potentially biologically addictive, which means the user requires 29 more novelty, often in the form of more shocking material, in 30 order to be satisfied; and 31 32 Whereas, this biological addiction leads to increasing themes of 33 risky sexual behaviors, extreme degradation, violence and child 34 sexual abuse images, and child pornography; and 35 36 Whereas, pornography use is linked to lessening desire in young 37 men to marry, dissatisfaction in marriage, and infidelity and this 38 link demonstrates that pornography has a detrimental effect on the 39 family unit; and 40 41 Whereas, overcoming the emotionally and psychologically 42 damaging effects of pornography is beyond the capability of the 43 afflicted individuals to address alone; and

[3887] 3 1 2 Whereas, it is important to recognize the cancer on society that 3 pornography poses when it is distributed carelessly over the 4 internet with little regard for the devastating and longlasting 5 effects that exposure to it can cause, and begin to address the 6 regulation of it to ensure compliance with the state’s obscenity 7 laws to protect the state’s citizens and youth in particular from 8 such exposure. Now, therefore, 9 10 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 11 concurring: 12 13 That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South 14 Carolina, by this resolution, recognize and acknowledge the public 15 health hazard of pornography which leads to a broad spectrum of 16 individual and societal harms, express the need to address the 17 pornography epidemic by encouraging education, prevention, 18 research, and policy changes to address the proliferation of 19 pornography on the internet in particular, and call for regulation of 20 pornography on the internet to ensure compliance with obscenity 21 laws of the State. 22 XX 23

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