The First Amendment and The New Anti-Pornography Statutes

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Abstract
This essay seeks, in a very preliminary way, to explore the constitutional ramifications of a new wave of laws designed to combat pornography. Pornography is not new, of course; and neither are laws designed to curtail it. It has long been prohibited by federal and state statutes. The first state obscenity law was passed in Vermont in 1821, and the first federal statute, which prohibited the importation of obscene materials such as “French post cards,” was enacted in 1842. As early as 1931, in Near v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court announced that obscenity was not entitled to constitutional protection under the First Amendment.What has changed is the economics of the sex industry, the demography of its constituency, and the nature of the materials themselves. Pornography today is flourishing as never before; by some estimates it is a $7 billion industry.

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