TRENTON, N.J.—The odds of finding a true "champion" for the adult entertainment industry in the United States Congress are pretty long. While there are lawmakers who are on the record supporting porn and sex worker's rights, there have been only a few who stand out as advocates for equally applying the rule of law to one of the most controversial industries in the country. Joe Cohn, a Democrat running for the nomination in New Jersey's third congressional district, wants to be a voice for adult industry professionals in Congress.
Adult industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is hosting Cohn for a virtual discussion this week. FSC touts Cohn as a staunch First Amendment advocate, and the discussion will give industry members access to a would-be ally in a divided Congress.
"I am a first-time candidate," Cohn told AVN, referring to the current primary race for the Democratic nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, also a Democrat. Kim is running for the U.S. Senate.
New Jersey's third congressional district has been a strong "blue" jurisdiction in elections since 2018. Kim's election shifted the seat to the Democrats and has remained as such since.
The third congressional district includes Burlington County and parts of Mercer and Monmouth Counties. It dips south into a portion of Pinelands National Reserve. Much of the district encompasses townships along Interstate 95 and runs against the outskirts of Trenton, the state capital. Cohn is based near Lumberton, a suburban township outside Philadephia.
"We are a field of five in the primary," Cohn said. "I kind of want to respect my other opponents. But the other opponents who are state legislators are more formidable, just by virtue of having the ability to communicate more to voters." Cohn refers to what he views as his only real competitors in the primary election slated for Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
Specifically, Cohn refers to state Asms. Herbert Conaway Jr., a Democrat from Delran who serves as deputy speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly, and Carol Murphy, a Democrat from Cinnaminson who serves as majority whip. Cohn's other two competitors are public school teacher Brian Schkeeper of Medford, and Sarah Schoengood, a small business owner and former intern for U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat representing New Jersey's 12th congressional district.
But who is this man who, to some, came out of nowhere? Industry advocates and professionals in this space might be surprised. Cohn is a First Amendment attorney whose pedigree as an advocate and litigator is considerable. Cohn's stepfather is Allen Lichtenstein, a legendary First Amendment litigator who served as general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada for two decades. Lichtenstein is on record representing clients in the adult entertainment industry, which inspired Cohn in part to become a civil rights lawyer.
In his two-decade career, Cohn has made a name for himself. He has years of service as a legal director for ACLU affiliates and served as legislative and policy director for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). FIRE has sided with the Free Speech Coalition on various issues over the years, including the age verification fight across the country.
"I believe passionately in civil liberties," Cohn explained. "And I believe in civil liberties for everyone, and I mean everyone. I view these issues as not necessarily issues of sexuality per se—of course it impacts sexuality—but it really impacts workers rights aspects of these issues and the free speech rights aspects of these issues.
"I've been around these issues most of my life," Cohn continued. "I've been around the [adult entertainment industry] forever. Topics of free speech were always at my dinner table."
Cohn explained that he has worked for years to promote the rights of people of all socioeconomic and political backgrounds and wants to bring this to Congress. One of the most trifling issues facing the adult entertainment industry as a whole is the onslaught of age verification legislation that explicitly targets adult entertainment websites.
A case brought in Texas by the Free Speech Coalition and the parent companies of the largest adult entertainment platforms in the world, targeting the state's age verification law, is currently being appealed to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., for consideration. It is worth noting that during the litigation history in the Texas lawsuit, Cohn's former employer, FIRE, was party to an amicus brief before the conservative U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that also featured the national affiliate of the ACLU as a party.
The ACLU is helping represent the Free Speech Coalition in its appeal to circuit Justice Samuel Alito and the conservative-leaning Supreme Court. Cohn told AVN that he expects the Supreme Court to take up and rule on the case before the end of the year. "I think FSC has a very strong case that age verification statutes are unconstitutional," Cohn said. He added that he expects the high court to decide on the landmark Section 230 cases that impact the safe harbor of adult platforms (really all platforms) to self-moderate their content without fear of liability and further government overreach, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton. AVN has previously reported on the vitality of these to the adult entertainment space.
Barring this sidebar, Cohn is no stranger to publicly fighting the age verification legislative trend. He told AVN he testified on behalf of FIRE against a bill that was introduced by Asm. Conaway in 2023. With Asm. Ellen Park, a Democrat from Englewood, Conaway introduced New Jersey bill A. 5750. This bill would have required age verification for social media use in the state.
A. 5750 died in the legislative calendar at the end of the 2022-2023 session after significant pushback from civil society organizations like FIRE, the New Jersey affiliate of the ACLU, and Garden State Equality. Asm. Murphy also criticized the bill, reports Politico's New Jersey Playbook newsletter. "I testified against the bill before I entered the race," Cohn explained.
Cohn also explained that the issue of the social media age verification bill was brought up during a primary debate hosted at Princeton University by the American Whig-Cliosophic Society student organization. Murphy was asked about her position, says Cohn, but while she maintained that A. 5750 was likely unconstitutional, she called for regulation of content.
"I am paraphrasing her, but that was her point of emphasis," Cohn said. "That exchange really highlights the difference between who will be sent to Congress if I don't succeed in the primary election." Cohn further explained that he's openly criticized and lobbied against highly controversial proposals introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives. These proposals include the EARN IT Act, the RESTRICT Act, and the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act—all of these, Cohn says, he has organized campaigns against.
He also opposes the Kids Online Safety Act, which is pending in the Senate and received a companion bill in the House. When asked what it is he intends to do in Congress, he spared no time: "My main focus in Congress is going to be doing everything we can to defend democracy from the various ways that it is threatened. And that is restrictions on voting rights; it's on attempts to roll back press freedoms, free speech rights, and other civil liberties. And it will require us to do everything we can to cut through our national polarization.
"Cutting through the polarization by being the kind of member of Congress that really works hard to find common ground is the type of representative I will be," he added. According to his website, Cohn lays out a platform heavy on returning constitutional freedoms to groups he says have those freedoms at risk. That includes the restoration of a national right to abortion and other reproductive freedoms and to defend the rights of workers. Overlap on the labor issues inform one particular issue of interest to Cohn that directly impacts porn: banking.
For years, the adult entertainment industry and other commercial sex industries have faced de-banking and financial discrimination. "De-banking" is the act of closing bank accounts of people or organizations the bank perceives as a financial, legal, regulatory and reputational risk to the bank and its ownership. FSC has campaigned for years to promote equal access to banking rules that cover adult entertainment and commercial sex industries and their members. The coalition even came out in support of the Fair Access to Banking Act, a bill that is currently before Congress with aggressive support from the Republicans. For Cohn, legislation like the Fair Access to Banking Act is right up his alley and an element of his agenda.
"I would introduce legislation in Congress that protects everyone's access to financial services," Cohn said. "I think it is important for people in the adult industry of all kinds: you know, erotic dancers, owners of businesses that sell adult novelties, and others. [...] People rely on their ability to have access to financial services for their businesses and personal lives. By allowing those entities to deny services to these people because they don't agree with the expression of the businesses and individuals ... causes way too much harm.
"If it is protected under the First Amendment and our laws are burdening that expression, I hope to be the one that the public turns to fix it," he asserted.
Adding to the ability to bank and work without unjustified scrutiny, Cohn also explained that he supports the national decriminalization of sex work and came out against the so-called Nordic model that criminalizes the sex buyer. He said that FOSTA-SESTA is a bad law, characterized it as unconstitutional, and expressed support for efforts to reform the law or repeal it entirely.
"We just need more people who will do less grandstanding and more protecting of constitutional rights," Cohn concluded. "That's been my life's mission."
Joe Cohn's virtual discussion session hosted by the Free Speech Coalition takes place Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.
Note: The article was corrected to reflect that Andy Kim is running for Senate, not retiring.
