WICHITA, October 27, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Kansas State Representative is pushing for a tax on pornography, citing as reasons the harm that pornography causes, the cost of investigating sex offences and rehabilitation of offenders.
Herington, Kansas, Republican Rep. Shari Weber, said the tax is justifiable because of the increase in sex crimes associated with increased access and viewing of pornography. Attorneys representing state sex shops have taken their case to a legislative assembly. Their claim is that there is no connection between viewing pornography and violent sex-related crime. Many experts, including nationally renowned homicide investigator, retired NYPD Lieutenant Commander Vernon Geberth, disagree.
In a 2003 book titled Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation, Geberth argued that the internet is fuelling sex-related crime. Acting now as a consultant to police, he stated in his book, “The sex-related cases I am encountering today are more frequent, vicious and despicable than what I ever experienced as a homicide cop. There are more serial killers today. In my opinion, we have had a proliferation in serial murder events, as well as sex-related homicides.”
Weber said the cost of investigating sex crimes, prosecuting and rehabilitating perpetrators, justifies the tax. “The state has a compelling interest to place an excise tax on these businesses because of their adverse effects on the health, well-being and safety of the citizens in our state,” she said, according to a Wichita Eagle report. Weber proposed a 10% tax on pornography sales, which Kansas Department of Revenue estimates would net $1 million per year.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Report Ties Violent Sex Crimes to Hardcore Pornography
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04033003.html
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