The harm done shows up in failed marriages, rape, sexual abuse of children, sexually transmitted diseases, unwed mothers and abortion. Curbing traffic in illegal obscenity will reduce the number of such tragedies and the need for programs to deal with them at great cost to the nation's public and private resources. The American people support vigorous enforcement of obscenity laws. State officials also need to increase resources for obscenity law enforcement. Forty states have workable statewide obscenity laws, and many state RICO laws include obscenity as a predicate crime.
Many states also allow city and county obscenity laws.
Some citizens and public officials believe that government's role should be limited to protecting children from pornography. For one thing, whatever an adult brings into the home usually finds its way into the hands of children. Even if children aren't exposed to the porn itself, they will often be aware of the role model's habit. Furthermore, pornography doesn't just harm children. For all these reasons and more, Morality in Media believes that those who truly care about the well being of children should be leading efforts to promote vigorous obscenity law enforcement.