Church Supports Anti-Pornography Motion

Los Angeles, California—Elder John K. Carmack of the First Quorum of the Seventy went on record here on December 1 in support of Los Angeles County Supervisor Peter F. Schabarum’s motion to step up the fight against pornography. Elder Carmack appeared before the County Board of Supervisors “to help give a push to the fight against pornography in Los Angeles County.”

There are some 650,000 members of the Church in California, the majority of them residing in the southern part of the state.

A longtime southern California attorney before becoming a General Authority in 1984, Elder Carmack is also a member of the national steering committee of the Religious Alliance against Pornography.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed both resolutions following testimony from Elder Carmack, three other religious leaders, and two government officials involved in the fight against pornography.

Elder Carmack commended Supervisor Schabarum and the two organizations presenting the resolutions “for clear thinking and addressing a critical community need affecting everyone.”

He said the Church wholeheartedly supports the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with its freedom of speech guarantees, but agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court opinion that “the First Amendment was not designed to protect and does not protect pornographic material.

“Let’s reject the myth that this is a censorship issue and make it what it is—a vital public safety issue,” he said.

“Despite assertions to the contrary,” Elder Carmack said, “valid research has now discovered that pornography desensitizes the users, increases male aggressive behavior against women and children, and decreases both male and female sensitivity to rape and the plight of the rape victim.”

Because Los Angeles is a major center for the production and distribution of pornography, Elder Carmack noted that “we can make a great difference here. If we can stop organized crime, confiscate their ill-gotten gains, and put those involved on notice that we have had enough, we can change the whole nature of the problem.”

He said that although there are laws that need enforcing, additional legislation is needed.

“We do not have to wait,” he concluded. “A change in attitude, a recognition of the enormity of the problem as a public safety issue, and a signal to our law enforcement officers will help immeasurably.”

Prior to the hearing, Elder Carmack met with representatives of twenty-eight stakes in the greater Los Angeles area. He called for Church leaders to be vigilant and become more involved in the fight against pornography in their communities.