Contact: Robert Peters, Morality in Media, 212-870-3210

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /Christian Newswire/ -- More than 50 national, state and local leaders have joined with Morality in Media in sending a letter to President Bush, asking him (among other things) to nominate a new U.S. Attorney "who fully understands the importance of enforcing federal obscenity laws." The full letter is published at www.moralityinmedia.org (Current Issues page).

The letter signers say, "We understand that our nation faces many pressing problems, including the threat of terrorism; but our nation also faces a growing moral crisis... It is clear that the explosive increase in the availability of pornography is fueling this moral crisis. It is also clear that there are federal obscenity laws already on the books that can be enforced against hardcore pornography...

"Our purpose in writing this letter is to encourage you to take steps necessary to bring about significant progress in this war against obscenity before your second term ends. You have spoken movingly about the need for cultural renewal; we believe that taking needed action now to clean up the glut of obscenity that pollutes our cultural environment would be a worthy legacy...

"We urge you to begin by nominating a new U.S. Attorney General who fully understands the importance of enforcing federal obscenity laws... We believe that Attorney Generals Ashcroft and Gonzalez meant well when each stated that enforcement of obscenity laws is a Justice Department 'priority.' By our count, however, there have been fewer than 20 obscenity prosecutions against commercial distributors of 'adult' pornography... That is hardly a refection of a 'priority.'

"We also urge you to address with FBI Director Robert Mueller the matter of the FBI's unwillingness to investigate all but a relative handful of obscenity cases. On the one hand, the FBI expends tremendous resources combating crimes linked to the spread of obscenity - namely, sexual abuse of children and trafficking in women and children - while on the other hand, it refuses to devote more than token resources to combat obscenity...

"We also urge you to make fighting obscenity one of your top priorities. President Reagan considered the problem important enough to invite national leaders concerned about pornography to meet with him at the White House...We also urge you to speak publicly about the obscenity problem. You can talk about how the explosion of obscenity corrupts children, ruins marriages, contributes to sex crimes... and undermines the right of Americans to live in a decent society...

"And finally, we urge you to consider the impact of Internet pornography on youth... Because the
Supreme Court has failed to uphold the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the only laws that can be enforced against websites that allow visitors to view pornography free of charge (as teasers) and without proof of age are the obscenity laws. The Justice Department has received tens-of-thousands of citizen complaints about these teaser sites, but to date the Department has not acted on them...

"This ought to concern a President and First Lady who have worked hard to protect our nation's youth. Among other things, hardcore pornography depicts adultery, pseudo child porn, barely legal teens... gang bangs, group sex, unsafe sex galore, sex with animals, sex with excrement, sex with siblings, sex with she-males, male-on-male rape, and the degradation, rape and torture of women...

"Mr. President, we urge you to take a leadership role in addressing the expanding obscenity problem. The wellbeing of our nation, communities, families and children are at stake."