The industry trade group, Free Speech Coalition, is blasting the House of Representatives’ passage on Wednesday of a bill that would toughen record keeping requirements for the adult industry.
“It’s a terribly flawed measure that is obviously unconstitutional,” said Tom Hymes, a spokesman for the organization, which today released its response to HR 4472, which aims to prevent the production and distribution of child pornography and toughen laws against gang members who commit crimes.
The measure is sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.
In its response, the organization railed against the measure which creates record keeping requirements for simulated sexual content, not covered by existing regulations, but gives the U.S. attorney general discretion to define activities not subject to the existing record keeping law, known as Section 2257 of Title 18, Part I, Chapter 110 of the United States Code.
The bill also restores Section 2256 (E) which adds the “lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person” as being sexually explicit conduct covered by Section 2257.
But more importantly, it allows the government to seize property or assets for those found in violation of 2257 regulations.
“It basically undoes a lot of the work we’ve done,” Hymes said.
The bill would also make the production of obscene material a federal crime and would prohibit lawyers of those accused of violating the statute from reproducing evidence defined as child pornography.
“We believe that this bill, which targets the industry as well as innocent citizens engaged in lawful sexual speech, cannot succeed for the simple reason that it is aimed at the wrong people,” the group said in a statement.
“We will continue to work through our federal lobbyists to convince the Senate to avoid the expense and time involved in litigation at the federal level, and instead reject the current Title VI legislation in favor of legislation that will actually do what it claims.”
Under Section 2257, the producer of any book, magazine, video or film is required to keep records of anyone performing sexually explicit acts after July 3, 1995, such as their name and date of birth along with documents providing proof of such information, including other names the performer has used.
The current measure only covers actual sexual conduct and not simulated sexual conduct as covered by HR 4472.
