[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 281 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 281

                     Respecting child pornography.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 1993

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. McMillan, Mr. 
Parker, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Solomon, Mr. Barrett of Nebraska, Mr. DeLay, Mr. 
 Fields of Texas, Mr. Buyer, Mr. Canady, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
 Rahall, Mr. Dickey, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. 
 Porter, Mr. Bachus of Alabama, Mr. Linder, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Lewis of 
Florida, Mr. Baker of California, Mr. Cox, Mr. Ravenel, Mr. Dornan, Mr. 
Royce, Mr. Camp, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Sundquist, Mr. Baker of Louisiana, 
Mr. Roth, Mr. Talent, Mr. Herger, Mr. Stump, Mr. Bateman, Mr. Quillen, 
  Mr. Ridge, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Horn, Mr. Lipinski, Mrs. 
 Roukema, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. 
   Callahan, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Hutto, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Walsh, Mr. 
  Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Zeliff, Mr. Gingrich, Mr. 
 Gekas, Mr. McCollum, and Mr. Kyl) submitted the following resolution; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

                             April 14, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. Stearns, Mr. Goss, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. 
 Smith of Texas, Mrs. Vucanovich, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Combest, Mr. Crane, 
  Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Paxon, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Upton, Mr. 
Ewing, Mr. Armey, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Oxley, Mr. 
  King, Mr. McCandless, Mr. Kim, Mr. Fawell, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. 
 Emerson, Mr. Holden, Mr. Pete Geren of Texas, Mr. Barcia of Michigan, 
 Mr. Lazio, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Lightfoot, Mr. Klug, Mr. 
  Blute, Mr. Hansen, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Shaw, Ms. Dunn, Mr. McDade, Mr. 
   Ballenger, Mr. Machtley, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
 Calvert, Mr. Castle, Mr. Weldon, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. 
 Spence, Mr. Torkildsen, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, Mr. Sam Johnson 
  of Texas, Mr. Archer, Mrs. Byrne, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Johnson of South 
Dakota, Mr. Everett, Mr. Fish, Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Franks of Connecticut, 
   Mr. Gallo, Mr. Moorhead, Mr. Packard, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Kasich, Mr. 
Kingston, Mr. Levy, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. Leach, Mr. 
Kildee, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Coble, Mrs. Meyers of Kansas, Mr. Barton of 
Texas, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Thomas of Wyoming, Mr. Rogers, 
 Ms. Danner, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Sarpalius, Mr. Hastert, Mr. 
     Zimmer, Mr. Johnston of Florida, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Dreier, Mr. 
Livingston, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Schaefer, Mr. Walker, 
 Mr. Grams, Mr. Bonilla, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Mica, Ms. Molinari, Mr. 
 Myers of Indiana, Mr. Klink, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Boehlert, 
Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Fingerhut, Mr. Cramer, Mr. McCloskey, Mr. Huffington, 
 Mr. McHugh, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Condit, Mr. Lancaster, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
  Roberts, Mr. Istook, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. Sharp, Mr. 
Tejeda, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. Barlow, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Frost, 
Mr. Duncan, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mrs. Bentley, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Miller of 
 Florida, Mr. Portman, Mr. Shays, Mr. Thomas of California, Mr. Franks 
  of New Jersey, Mr. Penny, Mr. Gunderson, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Regula, Mr. 
Traficant, Mr. Peterson of Florida, Mr. Nussle, Mr. Hefner, Mr. Michel, 
 Mr. Grandy, Mr. McInnis, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Whitten, Mr. 
 Murtha, Mr. Volkmer, Mr. Petri, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Young of Florida, Mr. 
Hoke, Mr. Borski, Mr. Hobson, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. McNulty, Mr. McCrery, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Mollohan, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Poshard, Mr. Bacchus of Florida, 
  Ms. Long, Mr. Allard, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Smith of Michigan, Mr. Diaz-
   Balart, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Andrews of New Jersey, Mr. Costello, Mr. 
 Shuster, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Clinger, 
 Mr. LaFalce, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Goodling, Mr. Hochbrueckner, Mr. Hayes, 
 Mr. Derrick, Mr. Kleczka, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Slattery, Mr. 
Darden, Mr. Baesler, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mann, Mr. Price of 
 North Carolina, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Wheat, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, 
  Mr. Manton, Mr. Barca of Wisconsin, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Valentine, Mr. 
   Hamilton, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Brewster, Ms. 
 Schenk, Mr. Clement, Ms. Shepherd, Mr. de la Garza, Mr. Glickman, Mr. 
              Strickland, Mr. Sangmeister, and Mr. Browder

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
                     Respecting child pornography.

Whereas child pornography is the permanent record of the sexual abuse or 
        exploitation of children;
Whereas children who are victims of child pornography often suffer severe 
        physical and emotional harm;
Whereas child pornography is a serious national problem;
Whereas the Congress of the United States has a compelling interest in the 
        protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation by pornography 
        (see New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982));
Whereas the Congress of the United States, in pursuit of this compelling 
        interest, has taken every opportunity to strengthen child pornography 
        laws and has, in clear and unambiguous language, criminalized the 
        production, interstate distribution, receipt and possession of child 
        pornography;
Whereas the United States Department of Justice in its brief to the United 
        States Supreme Court in the case of Knox v. United States, 92-1183, has 
        failed to support the conviction of a child pornographer won by the 
        Department in the United States District Court for the Middle District 
        of Pennsylvania and affirmed on appeal in the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the Third Circuit;
Whereas the Department of Justice has used its brief in the Knox case as a 
        vehicle for reinterpretation of the Federal child pornography laws in 
        contravention to legislative history and past prosecution practices of 
        the Department of Justice;
Whereas the Department of Justice by declaring in its brief in the Knox case 
        that a pornographer who lasciviously exhibits the genitals of children 
        is prosecutable within the Federal child pornography laws only if the 
        depictions show a minor engaged in the conduct of lasciviously 
        exhibiting his or her genitals or pubic area, creates a federally 
        protected class of child pornography, e.g. child pornography involving 
        children who are not knowingly engaged in lasciviously exhibiting their 
        genitals or pubic areas but whose genitals or pubic areas are 
        nonetheless lasciviously depicted by others;
Whereas the Department of Justice by declaring in its brief in the Knox case in 
        contravention to legislative history, that a pornographer who 
        lasciviously exhibits the genital or pubic area of children is 
        prosecutable within the Federal child pornography laws only if the 
        genitals are nude or visible creates a federally protected class of 
        child pornography, e.g. depictions which focus on a minor child's 
        clothed genital or pubic area with the obvious intent of eliciting a 
        sexual response in pedophiles;
Whereas the plan meaning and congressional intent of the language in section 
        2256 of title 18, United States Code, is that the term ``lascivious 
        exhibition'' refers to whether the depiction is intended to elicit a 
        sexual response from the viewer, and not to the actions of the child;
Whereas the Department of Justice has employed this meaning of the term 
        ``lascivious exhibition'' since it was included in the laws in 1984, and 
        Congress has not changed the meaning of the term;
Whereas Congress specifically repudiated a ``nudity'' requirement for child 
        pornography statutes (see United States v. Knox, 977 F. 2d 815, at 820-
        823, (3rd Cir., 1992));
Whereas the ``harm Congress attempted to eradicate by enacting child pornography 
        laws is present when a photographer unnaturally focuses on a minor 
        child's clothed genital area with the obvious intent to produce an image 
        sexually arousing to pedophiles.'' (see Knox at 822); and
Whereas the Congress of the United States believes that the reinterpretation of 
        the Federal child pornography laws by Department of Justice, unless 
        reversed, will bring back commercial child pornography and lead to a 
        substantial increase of sexual exploitation of children: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Department of Justice repudiate its reinterpretation of Federal 
child pornography laws, defend the conviction won in lower courts in 
the Knox case, and vigorously prosecute sexual exploitation of 
children.

                                 <all>