Legislators from 15 states join AFA and AFA Action in U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief to protect children from online pornography

TUPELO, Miss. — Yesterday, the American Family Association (AFA) and AFA Action submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the United States Supreme Court case, FSC v. Paxton, joined by lawmakers from 15 states. AFA and more than 60 state lawmakers weighed in to support the Texas Attorney General in defense of H.B. 1181, a law that requires pornographic websites to verify that users are adults before allowing access to pornographic content. A coalition of pornographic websites, calling themselves the “Free Speech Coalition,” sued the State of Texas alleging the Texas law violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.

“The billion-dollar Big Porn industry is asking the Supreme Court to recognize a First Amendment right to harm children,” explained AFA Action Senior Legal Fellow Trey Dellinger. “That argument is completely contrary to the original understanding of free speech. From the English common law through the first 150 years of our nation, free speech protections never extended to indecent or obscene content. The Constitution does not require children to be allowed into R-rated movie theaters. Surely, it does not grant porn websites the right to destroy children’s innocence.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the issue of reining in internet pornography has come before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Twenty years ago, Congress imposed criminal penalties on porn websites that failed to use adult verification,” said Dellinger. “In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that law. The Court held that the threat of criminal prosecution endangered adult speech and said parents should use filtering software to protect their kids.

“Fast forward to 2024, and filtering software has done nothing to stem the tide of internet pornography. Also, unlike the federal laws the Court invalidated, these state laws impose only civil penalties on websites that don’t use adult verification. This poses no legitimate threat to free speech. We believe this time the Court will uphold these carefully drafted state laws.

“AFA and AFA Action are proud to stand with state legislators ranging from Florida to Utah to protect our children from the porn industry profiteers,” concluded Dellinger.

For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission.  Founded in 1977, AFA has long been on the front lines of America’s culture war. Today,  AFA is one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with nearly a million online supporters and approximately 110,000 subscribers to The Stand (formerly known as the AFA Journal), the ministry’s monthly magazine. Find AFA Action Alerts here. In addition, AFA owns and operates nearly 180 radio stations across the country under the American Family Radio banner. 

For more information on the American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or X @AmericanFamAssc.        

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To interview an AFA spokesperson, contact [email protected], Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Richard Jefferson, [email protected].