Utah?s Parents, Teachers, and Legislators Defend Right to Keep Porn Out of Their Homes
The Parent Teacher Association and 37 State Legislators File Motion Defending Utah’s Child Protection Registry
To: State Desk
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 13 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Utah’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and 37 state legislators have filed an application of amici curiae in the lawsuit brought by the pornography industry to shut down the state’s Child Protection Registry (
www.kidsregistry.utah.gov). The filing asks the court to allow the PTA and legislators to submit a friend of the court brief supporting the right of Utah’s parents to keep pornographic materials out of their homes.
“The Child Protection Registry is a simple, free, common sense measure to keep out messages that are inappropriate for children,” said Carmen Snow, President of the Utah PTA. “Parents and teachers across the state are committed to stop this attempt by the adult industry to invade our homes and schools.”
The legislators who have signed on to the amicus brief span the political spectrum. “Protecting the right of parents to raise their children as they see fit is not a partisan issue,” said President of the Senate John Valentine. “Utah’s parents have the right to declare their homes off-limits to pornographic solicitations, and the legislature is committed to ensuring they have tools like the Child Protection Registry to do so.”
“Our legislature has a proud record of supporting parents and families,” said Speaker of the House Greg Curtis. “The State of Utah will stand strong against the companies sending this outrageous material to unwilling recipients.”
The suit to shut down the Child Protection Registry was filed in Federal District Court before Judge Dale Kimball by the so-called “Free Speech Coalition,” a lobbying group for the pornography industry. The brief by the PTA and the legislators was authored pro bono by the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), a constitutional law firm based in Washington, D.C.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of individuals to keep material they find objectionable out of their homes,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “The claim by the pornography industry that they have the right to send their offensive material whenever, however, and to whomever they choose flies in the face of well-established jurisprudence.”
