Gonzales Vows Aggressive Stand on Obscenity Prosecution

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, speaking in Washington, DC Monday, said he aims to proceed aggressively in the prosecution of obscenity cases.

Gonzales spoke to a Washington meeting of the Hoover Institution, a public policy think tank based at Stanford University.

Monday’s speech, Gonzales’ first lengthy address since becoming attorney general in early February, put forth a broad agenda, which outlined the department’s coming priorities.

Notably, Gonzales said people who distribute obscene materials do not enjoy constitutional guarantees of free speech.

"I am committed to prosecuting these crimes aggressively," he said.

The Justice Department is appealing the dismissal of an obscenity case in Pittsburgh in which a federal judge said prosecutors went too far in trying to block the sale of pornographic movies over the Internet and through the mail.