H.J.R. 7 Enrolled

1

RESOLUTION OPPOSING UNITED STATES
2 SUPREME COURT'S PORNOGRAPHY
3 DECISION
4 2006 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Chief Sponsor: Ron Bigelow
7 Senate Sponsor: Michael G. Waddoups
8 Cosponsors:
9 Douglas C. Aagard
10 J. Stuart Adams
11 Jeff Alexander
12 Sheryl L. Allen
13 Roger E. Barrus
14 DeMar Bud Bowman
15 Craig W. Buttars
16 D. Gregg Buxton
17 LaVar Christensen
18 David Clark
19 Stephen D. Clark
20 Tim M. Cosgrove
21 David N. Cox
22 Greg J. Curtis
23 Bradley M. Daw
24 Margaret Dayton
25 Brad L. Dee
26 Glenn A. Donnelson
27 John Dougall
28 Carl W. DuckworthJames A. Dunnigan
Ben C. Ferry
Janice M. Fisher
Julie Fisher
Lorie D. Fowlke
Craig A. Frank
Kerry W. Gibson
James R. Gowans
Ann W. Hardy
Wayne A. Harper
Neal B. Hendrickson
David L. Hogue
Kory M. Holdaway
Gregory H. Hughes
Fred R. Hunsaker
Eric K. Hutchings
Bradley T. Johnson
Todd E. Kiser
Bradley G. Last
M. Susan Lawrence
Rebecca D. LockhartSteven R. Mascaro
John G. Mathis
Ronda Rudd Menlove
Karen W. Morgan
Michael T. Morley
Joseph G. Murray
Michael E. Noel
Curtis Oda
Patrick Painter
Paul Ray
LaWanna Lou Shurtliff
Gordon E. Snow
Aaron Tilton
David Ure
Stephen H. Urquhart
Mark W. Walker
Peggy Wallace
Richard W. Wheeler
Larry B. Wiley
Scott L Wyatt 29
30 LONG TITLE
31 General Description:
32 This joint resolution of the Legislature expresses opposition to a recent decision of the
33 United States Supreme Court regarding pornography and urges Congress to pass a
34 constitutional amendment to protect children from accessing pornography.
35 Highlighted Provisions:

36 This resolution:
37 . expresses opposition to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ashcroft v.
38 American Civil Liberties Union, 124 S. Ct. 2783, 159 L. Ed. 2d 690, regarding
39 protecting minors from exposure to pornography; and
40 . urges the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment protecting
41 children from accessing pornography.
42 Special Clauses:
43 None
44
45 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
46 WHEREAS, in Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 124 S. Ct. 2783, 159 L.
47 Ed. 2d 690, plaintiffs challenged the content-based speech restrictions of the Child Online
48 Protection Act (COPA), which was designed to protect minors from exposure to pornography
49 on the World Wide Web;
50 WHEREAS, in that case, the United States Supreme Court invoked a requirement that,
51 in order to prevail in a court challenge, the federal government must demonstrate that less
52 restrictive methods of protecting minors from pornography are not as effective as current law;
53 WHEREAS, in that case, the United States Supreme Court held that the federal
54 government failed to meet the burden of proving that proposed alternatives such as filtering
55 software, a plausible less restrictive alternative to COPA, would be less effective in protecting
56 minors from exposure to pornography on the Internet;
57 WHEREAS, child pornography has become a $3 billion annual industry;
58 WHEREAS, the United States Customs Service estimates that there are more than
59 100,000 websites offering child pornography, which is illegal worldwide;
60 WHEREAS, these unlawful sexual images can be purchased very easily at these
61 websites;
62 WHEREAS, more than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet
63 every week;

64 WHEREAS, one in five children who use computer chat rooms has been approached
65 over the Internet by pedophiles;
66 WHEREAS, in 2002, the United States Supreme Court stated in another case that
67 virtual pornographic images of children are a victimless crime;
68 WHEREAS, in many instances it is impossible for a viewer to determine whether an
69 image is a virtual or an actual photographic image;
70 WHEREAS, the determination of whether the material is "harmful to minors" was
71 intended by the United States Supreme Court to be made by lawfully appointed juries made up
72 of, in the Court's own words, "average person[s], applying contemporary community standards,
73 would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to,
74 or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest" and "taken as a whole, lack serious literary,
75 artistic, political, or scientific value for minors";
76 WHEREAS, the United States Congress should take deliberate action to protect minors
77 through the passage of a constitutional amendment protecting minors from exposure to
78 pornography; and
79 WHEREAS, governments and the courts must respond decisively when minors are
80 exposed to material that is harmful to them, in the name of preserving the free speech right of
81 adults:
82 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
83 expresses opposition to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ashcroft v. American
84 Civil Liberties Union, 124 S. Ct. 2783, 159 L. Ed. 2d 690, and other recent cases that claim to
85 preserve the free speech rights of adults while exposing minors to material the United States
86 Supreme Court has stated is "harmful to minors."
87 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, in order to help
88 protect children, strongly urges the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment,
89 if necessary, prohibiting child pornography, actual or simulated.
90 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges Congress to pass a
91 constitutional amendment, if necessary, to criminalize the possession or viewing of child

92 pornography, actual or simulated, by any individual.
93 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority
94 Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
95 the United States Supreme Court, and to the members of Utah's congressional delegation.