Yesterday, the Arizona Senate narrowly passed HCR2009 in a 16 – 13 vote with all Republicans voting in favor, and Democrats voting against, with one non-vote. This resolution addressing the health harms of pornography has now passed both chambers of the legislature and is headed to the desk of Republican Governor Doug Ducey who’s anticipated to sign. The resolution addresses pornography as leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts, harming the nation’s youth, having an adverse effect on the family, and concludes strongly “that the members of the Legislature denounce pornography as a public health crisis.” Katie Perez, local advocate in Arizona for the bill said, “With a narrow Republican majority in the House and Senate, we needed every Republican vote to make this happen.” Perez was of a number of other supporters of the resolution contacting state legislators to support the resolution.
States are historically active in combatting this crisis once passing these resolutions. In 2018 Utah required all Internet service providers to notify customers of available parental controls or be fined. In the same year, Lousiana required their Department of Education to create material notifying parents of public school children of the health harms of pornography and free Internet filters.
This year, the Missouri legislature introduced a bill that, if passed, would require every Internet provider doing business with residents of Missouri to filter pornographic websites for customers and making it only accessible by password. The bill is set for its first vote this Wednesday, and according to Uriah Stark of the National Decency Coalition, “Members seem to be divided on party-lines on this bill. However, with the Republican majority in both chambers, we are looking pretty good for passage.” In Tennessee this year, the House of Representatives passed another resolution calling on the federal government to take action against this crisis, with advocates pointing to the U.K.’s recent law that requires pornographers to verify age before making material accessible as a model.
According to Perez, “This passage is the first of many things to come in combating this crisis.” Katie shared with us the need for education in public schools, and for Internet providers to provide better controls for customers. According to Parents Who Fight, more than 80% of parents concerned with child Internet safety don’t even know what their Internet provider even offers to protect children from harmful material. Montana, just two weeks ago passed a similar resolution. Arizona has now become the 14th state to openly condemn pornography through their state’s legislature.