Many agree pornography should be protected

The movie The People vs. Larry Flynt has brought to light the larger issue of the First Amendment and whether pornography is protected by it.

The movie details the life of Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine. Since the movie has been released, many people, including prominent feminist Gloria Steinem, in a column for the New York Times, have called attention to the fact that pornography degrades women and may even incite violence against them. Others, though, have supported pornography as free speech protected under the First Amendment.

Robert D. Richards, founding director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, sees the right to publish pornography as an important example of the extent of First Amendment rights.

"Unless material is deemed legally obscene, it has some degree of protection by the First Amendment," he said. "I think the general public has a difficult time swallowing that because they are looking at the particular individual on which the case is based -- and that could be a pornographer or a flag-burner or a journalist who made up quotes or something like that."

Richards, an associate professor of journalism and law, thinks people have a tough time looking at the overall picture and seeing how important First Amendment rights are.

"It's hard to take that next step and say, 'Well, even though this case does protect this individual, it also goes beyond that and protects the right of the legitimate media to publish,' " he said.

Richards also sees the current discussions as symptomatic of a larger problem affecting the country.

"I think the public increasingly has an appetite to censor material whether it comes on the Internet or across their television screens or in printed form," he said.

Television ratings systems and the Communications Decency Act have Richards worried that censorship is looming ever larger.

"Once these rights erode, its very difficult to get them back," he said.

Jon Feinberg, co-coordinator of the Penn State chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, agrees that although pornography may be offensive, the First Amendment is too important to cut corners.

"Sure, pornography may be violent to women, but if you start censoring that, then what else are you going to censor?" he said, citing the recent incident involving a University art student and the commotion caused by her art project.

"I think people should be allowed to read whatever they want," said Jerry Johnson (senior-science).

Although Yvonne Rasor, co-director of Womyn's Concerns, thinks that pornography is a problem, she doesn't believe that outlawing it would do any good.

"I'd like to see people educated in such a way that they choose not to use it," she said, adding that outlawing it would just force it underground.