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WASHINGTON, DC, August 27, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new change in the Republican Party Platform to target illegal adult pornography, rather than only child pornography, has been welcomed by one of the country’s leading anti-porn crusaders.

Patrick A. Trueman, president of Morality In Media (MIM), labelled the decision, “an exceedingly positive development that will protect children, as well as families from the scourge of hardcore pornography.”

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The new language replaces previous platform wording, which only opposed child pornography. It will now read, “Current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity need to be vigorously enforced.” Trueman noted that current federal obscenity laws not only prohibit distribution of hardcore pornography on the Internet but also on hotel/motel TV, on cable/satellite TV, and in retail shops. 

“Distribution of obscene or hardcore pornography on the Internet is a violation of current federal law,” said Trueman. “Yet, most children in America have free access to obscene pornography as soon as they learn how to use a computer. The average age of first exposure to obscene Internet pornography is now eleven.”

Trueman credited Tony Perkins,  President of the Family Research Council, for having led the fight to get the tougher language in the platform. 

Research shows that children and adults are developing life-long addictions to pornography. On average four out of five 16 year-olds now regularly access pornography online, 56% of divorces cite Internet pornography as a major factor in the breakup of the marriage, and significant and growing numbers of men in their twenties are developing “porn-induced sexual dysfunction.” 

In 2010, Morality In Media initiated The War On Illegal Pornography coalition, a program to get federal laws on adult pornography vigorously enforced. This came after repeated attempts to influence the U. S. Department of Justice to enforce existing obscenity laws, which were passed by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. MIM’s bipartisan coalition of 127 national, state and local groups has gained the support of nearly half of the U.S. Senate and many members of the House.