[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 239 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 239

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to 
       obscenity and sexual objectification in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 1999

Mr. Gary Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Hutchinson, 
 Mr. Schaffer, Mr. Pickering, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Goode, Mr. 
Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. DeMint, and Mr. English) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to 
       obscenity and sexual objectification in the United States.

Whereas the health and safety and morals of the children of the United States is 
        a matter of compelling and surpassing importance;
Whereas the health and safety and morals of the children of the United States is 
        threatened by purveyors and panderers of pornography, violence, and 
        philosophies which treat the individual as a commodity to be bought and 
        sold;
Whereas the use of the human image as a vehicle to enhance depraved fantasies 
        has a real effect on changing the attitudes, values, mores, and ethics 
        of consumers of such material; and
Whereas basic civil rights require that persons and their images not be used, 
        sold, bartered, coerced, or defrauded into illegal sexual activity: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) although the first amendment to the United States 
        Constitution, as interpreted and construed by the Supreme 
        Court, makes clear that only narrow limits on speech may be 
        imposed, the people of the United States should--
                    (A) review their own conduct;
                    (B) take all reasonable steps to use the freedom of 
                speech which has made and maintained this Nation in 
                freedom to build up and not destroy;
                    (C) advance public morality which is based on 
                respect for human dignity;
                    (D) restrain the growth of illegal sexual speech 
                and activity in all of its forms; and
                    (E) create an environment in which our children 
                will learn to do good and oppose evil.
            (2) the President, the Congress, and the States should 
        review their laws, executive orders, and policies to determine 
        and effectuate what may be done, within the boundaries of the 
        first amendment, to end the use of individuals and their images 
        as sexual objects or tools which undermine the dignity of all 
        citizens of the United States; and
            (3) the President and the Attorney General should--
                    (A) vigorously enforce Federal obscenity laws to 
                demonstrate the resolve of the United States to uphold 
                the dignity of the individual from such degrading use; 
                and
                    (B) aggressively pursue violations of laws 
                involving the interstate movement of individuals for 
                illegal sexual purposes, so that by leadership, the 
                United States might induce the many members of the 
                global community to end prostitution in all of its 
                forms, which contributes to the growth of organized 
                crime, the creation and use of illegal pornography, the 
                spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and denial of 
                basic human rights to its victims.
                                 <all>