[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 61 (Tuesday, May 14, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  OVERDUE BOOKS AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I read in the paper recently about a woman 
from Hazelton, Pennsylvania, who was thrown in jail because she had 
three overdue library books. Theresa Keller's husband used her library 
card to check out three library books 2 years ago and never returned 
them. Well, not long afterwards, Mrs. Keller found herself living in a 
domestic violence shelter. She did not even know about the books. 
Nevertheless, the judge through her in jail for several days for 
failing to pay her library fines.
  Now, while all of this was happening, the Supreme Court of the United 
States ruled that virtual child pornography was legal. It seems the 
Supreme Court thinks that everyone has a constitutional right to child 
pornography on the computer. So my question is this: How is it that the 
American judicial system is throwing women in jail for overdue library 
books but at the same time telling pornographers that they are free to 
continue to make child pornography on computers?
  Mr. Speaker, something is very wrong here.

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