A PORN star is begging Republican lawmakers not to block adult films from cell phones and tablets as they mull a ban to “protect kids.” Cherie DeVille wrote an open letter, published by The Daily Beast on Saturday, to Utah state lawmakers asking them to reconsider such a ban. “If you want to monitor what […]
A PORN star is begging Republican lawmakers not to block adult films from cell phones and tablets as they mull a ban to “protect kids.”
Cherie DeVille wrote an open letter, published by The Daily Beast on Saturday, to Utah state lawmakers asking them to reconsider such a ban.
“If you want to monitor what your kid watches on their phone, install parental controls that have existed since AOL,” she wrote to the state’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox.
“If your kid still manages to watch porn, here’s an idea: Take away their phone.
“Why does any child need a cellphone anyway? They certainly don’t need the state to parent them.”
Cox has said he will assess the HB72 bill but has not yet indicated if he will support it.
The governor has until this Thursday, March 25, to sign the legislation.
Utah, a majority Mormon state, will be the first state to introduce such measures if the bill, proposed by Republican Representative Susan Pulsipher, is adopted.
It is focused on allowing parents to restrict their children from being able to access porn on their devices and adults will be able to turn off the filter if they choose.
Critics have hit out at the proposal introduced to the state’s senate as they believe it to be unconstitutional but parents are pushing for the right to protect children from explicit content.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the bill “wouldn’t kick in immediately and would remain on pause until five other states pass a similar law.”
But once the ban does take effect, it would require that all “new devices sold in the state must have pornography filters activated at the time of purchase.”
Any device manufacturers that don’t comply are “at risk of civil liability.”
Pulsipher said on Saturday: “[The bill] doesn’t take the place of good parenting. It doesn’t take the place of family rules or family discussions.”
“It’s just a tool to help good parents be good parents.”
But porn star DeVille said the bill won’t help Utah kids at all – and claimed it’s an attempt to stop adults from watching porn in the conservative state.
“Stop using ‘protect the children’ when your real goal is to stop adults from watching porn,” she wrote in her open letter.
Pulsipher said DeVille’s claim that the state is trying to stop adults from watching porn is not true – and that adults would be able to deactivate content blockers and watch porn if they wanted.
DeVille noted in her open letter to Cox that many people in Utah would be upset at a porn ban, as Pornhub reported in 2015 getting 16 visits per capita from residents.
The adult film star pointed out that Cox recently said “there’s more to being a conservative than just ‘owning the libs.’”
The Tribune reports that Cox said on a recent podcast: “I believe in a Republican Party and a conservatism that is about opportunity for everyone. We don’t do that with these fake controversies, these false choices we keep presenting people.”
DeVille encouraged the governor to take note of that statement instead of pursuing a political culture war.
She wrote the porn ban could start a “deadly slope that would send Utah residents’ civil liberties off a hill.”
“If you want Republicans to focus more on creating legislation around real issues, defend the free speech of the pornographers whose profession conservatives oppose.
“Remind conservatives that free speech means free speech for everyone, especially those you oppose.”
