By Chris Basten

  The number of state laws against sexual conduct between consenting adults is absurd. How heavily these laws are followed and policed depend upon the state you reside in. Ironically, many Americans tend to hold strong convictions in the right to own private property but heavily crusade against the kind of sex that property owners choose to have on it. This double standard is nothing less than immoral and dangerous; people get angry when they can't make their own choices on their own property.

Laws seem to have a paradoxical effect: the behavior they aim to inhibit usually increases. Witness the unfolding of the Drug War and you will find nothing but shootings and an underground movement full of contaminated drugs and death. Instead of admitting that prohibitions don't work, the extremists from all walks of life implore the government to "moralize" us with their laws and guns. Because no one likes to be patient and rely on years and years of painstaking persuasion, many tend to run to the government. If we can't persuade 'em, we'll make 'em.

With pornography, the argument seems to follow: monkey see, monkey do. We're made to believe that any and all forms of pornography will damage our children forever and we'll all become a decadent society of disease-ridden orgies. These scare tactics are nothing new, however. Children and adolescents discover pornography in some form or another and it usually doesn't scar most of them. In fact, most of them laugh at the material with a group of their friends and then go to the privacy of their own bedrooms later to "relieve" themselves. They hurt no one in discovering their own sexuality.

But everyone is an expert on what harms kids and pollutes society. Take the duplicitous ramblings of Jerry Falwell. He campaigns heavily against the damaging effects of pornography and is one of the fattest preachers alive. While getting hot under the collar about dirty magazines and movies, he's spitting moist cake chunks and cream filling from a Twinkie. He hollers fervently against the lack of self-control that pornography apparently promotes and can barely get out of his leather office chair because he can't control his own eating habits. 'Eat, drink, and be merry' is his adage. It just doesn't apply when people want to rent a triple-X feature, apparently.

Not surprisingly, research finds that the effects of pornography on children, teenagers, and young adults are inconclusive. Some are harmed by it, others are not. But unlike fundamentalism, research takes into account demographics like how an individual was raised, past sexual experiences, attitudes about sex, etc., etc. The Falwells of the world just say it is all bad because an archaic book says so. We're all going to be punished severely by some angry God for watching other people have sex in the privacy of our own homes. Run for the hills…

We could easily brush off such debilitating nonsense but these sermons never seem to end at the pulpit. True, pornography may have some negative effects. But instead of respecting an individual's right to choose, the hardcore lobbyists against hardcore take it to the pinnacles of government. Laws are then forced into being because these lobbyists cannot stand to be shown up on anything. If they can make it a law, then it must be wrong. This is about the time when true suffering begins.

Broad-scope sodomy and obscenity laws are drafted not because they serve a protective function but because they win votes for upcoming campaigns. Old sex laws on the books, though rarely enforced, could convict people for things like fornication, oral and anal sex, adultery, and violations of vague obscenity regulations. George Bush is getting involved in the anti-obscenity drive as well because his Presidential throne is on the line. Time to get tough on the things lobbyists want done. They threaten not to vote if their laws are not passed. What king can resist such a threat?

So in come the pornography police to "protect our kids." It's always about protecting the kids. And we fall for it every time. Now I'm not saying that we should leave copies of hardcore films and magazines lying around for youngsters to get immersed in. Nor am I saying that child pornography and abuse is right. It's nasty stuff. The point is that this anti-obscenity crusade is really about being right, like all lobbying efforts are. If the fundamentalists can use the government to prove how right they are about our sexual behavior, regardless of what the facts are, they will rely on state and federal force to kick in our doors and throw us into prison if needed. As long as they are right and they can use their holy books to say "I told you so," they will not hold back.

So what will happen, then, if obscenity laws become stricter and more heavily enforced? This is an easy answer. History shows us that pornographers will become richer instead of being put out of business. If you can't obtain something in the free market that fulfills a demand, the black market will happily oblige for a heftier price. A $10 billion industry could turn into a $20 billion industry because human beings love sex. We can't seem to get enough of it.

The free market is not responsible for our decision-making, however. The bartender who keeps filling one's glass is serving his customer and can offer to call for a cab (almost all do this as part of taking care of their patrons). But the customer is responsible for his relationship to alcohol. If he cannot find it in a bar or at a liquor store, he will find it whichever way he can and there will always be a provider waiting to fulfill his need.

This is how the market always works. A demand for something will naturally bring about a supply. Why should sex be any different? It mostly has to do with the fact that it is such a private act. But, again, the market is not responsible for our relationship to things like alcohol, gambling, drug use, and pornography. These things, in and of themselves, have no moral significance. They are what they are. Our relationship to these activities is what determines how we respond. You can't police the amount of responsibility an individual will take for their association to certain acts or objects. It's been tried. It simply doesn't work.

Having a huge tripe-X collection of videos does not necessitate that someone will go out and rape women or become promiscuous and careless. In fact, for a lot of people, it may curb such primitive desires by fulfilling them through the fantasies that hardcore pornography provides. Every individual is different and every individual has a different relationship to what they partake in. Some practice abstinence, some practice moderation, some practice indulgence, and others are flat-out addicted. The market can provide assistance for those who cannot control themselves. If left alone, a free market always corrects itself by serving the needs of customers.

The righteous scaremongers don't care about complete facts and rational thinking, though. They only care about being right and will take those sound bytes from research that support their cause. In their emotionally- and religiously-charged opinions, people shouldn't be spending $10 billion a year on pornography so they fight against what people willingly choose. They think that might makes right through government laws and government guns. They have no problem throwing in a feminist quote, hollering a Koran or Bible verse, and patting themselves on the back once their brand of force has been adopted. And they always do it around the time of an upcoming election. This is what is truly X-rated and obscene.