Pornography on Public Library Computers
An Ethical Controversy by Bret Clancy

Ever since the fall of man the seed of immorality has continued to grow, adapt, and morph like the influenza virus. Pornography is one of those immoral viruses that persistently sicken societies. Scientists continue to make vaccines against the illness and while some are more effective than others, none of them have ever cured the illness. The same can be said of pornography. Defining pornography is not black and white. There are a variety of definitions for pornography and some definitions are used by individuals to help their cases when taking legal action. Merriam-Webster defines pornography as, “the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction” (merriam-webster.com). Merriam-Webster describes pornography in a docile manner making it appear inviting. The Oxford dictionary defines pornography in a more intense visual cue of the actual intent. The definition states pornography is, “printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement” (oxforddictionaries.com). Dictionary.com defines pornography as, “obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, especially those having little or no artistic merit” (dictionary.reference.com). They appeal to the artistic aspect of pornography by stating that pornography is not art because of the obscene nature. Lawyers will use this definition when advocates for pornography as art, and the first amendment, are in the courtroom battling for the right, whichever that may be. Nudism in art gets a bad rap from pornography by virtue of the nature of being nude. The body itself must be viewed as a wonderful creation of God. All of the body’s parts serve a special function and when used properly it actually glorifies God. The sinful nature has caused the eyes to see nude and then produces sinful thoughts because of the pleasurable act of sex, which in and of itself is not sinful, but because of sin we lust thoughts automatically. That being said, nude art done right and in the right context can be considered moral, whereas pornography can and should be considered immoral. Keith Furon of Keith Furon Photography describes the difference between nude art and pornography by saying,
Fine art or erotic nudes may have a sensual or sexual tone, but not in the casual or disposable way that pornographic images do. But there is something about a successful fine art nude image that humbles the viewer; the sheer beauty of the subject commands respect. Pornographic images do not have this effect; there is something about them that is inherently cheap and disposable (dkeithfuron.com).
Pornography’s inherit immoral sexual nature by virtue of its depiction makes pornography dangerous to any person who partakes in the viewing of such material. Public libraries have been scrutinized for allowing pornography on their computers to be viewed by any person regardless of age. Citizens, for or against pornography, battle in courtrooms over issues based on art and freedom of speech of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
While there is no difference in morality from the fall of man until now, the accessibility and free spirited nature of today’s media has made immoral situations easily viewable at the touch of a finger. Today is the day of the information highway and according to the Leichtman Research Group, “90% of US households that use a laptop or desktop computer at home currently subscribe to a broadband Internet service” (leichtmanresearch.com). Ilovelibraries.org reports “a 2006 study commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation found that 71 percent of people using public libraries cite the library as their primary source of access to a computer and the Internet” (ilovelibraries.org, sec. 3, par. 1). As the Internet usage continues to grow like a virus, constitutional and ethical challenges by an ever more controversial populous hinder limiting accessibility to pornographic material in a public library.
A widely held belief that a person has the right to view Internet pornography, even in a public library, is the basis for interpretation of the first amendment of the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. The first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1). There are some people who believe that pornography is an art form and to censor it violates freedom of speech. The government has attempted over the years to restrict pornographic material, yet it continues to avoid a full on ban. The Internet was not around in 1968, but a Supreme Court case, Ginsberg v. New York, “Held that the government can constitutionally prohibit children from accessing certain types of sexually explicit material that it cannot constitutionally ban for adults” (nap.edu, pornography and the first amendment, par. 4). Nap.edu went on to explain the case and the challenge for today,
This case dealt with the issue of “variable obscenity” and whether a minor had a constitutional right to the same content as an adult. The Supreme Court ruled that the government is entitled to restrict children’s access to certain kinds of sexually explicit material, even if the material isn’t obscene or illegal for adults. The challenge of the Internet is that it’s difficult to distinguish adults from children for purposes of restricting content (nap.edu, pornography and the first amendment, par. 5).
Today, the government has been working to distinguish children from adults as Nap.edu shows the legal side of authority of the government and states that the government can regulate pornography by what is known as obscenity. Obscenity is classified as “work that, taken as a whole and judged by the current standards of a community, appeals to an unhealthy interest in sex, depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lacks any serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” (nap.edu, legal issues, par. 3). The website also states that the government can regulate “obscenity with respect to minors, which refers to materials that qualify as obscene when children are the audience” (nap.edu, legal issues, par. 4). Like a stronger dose of the vaccine, Ernest Istook of safelibraries.blogspot.com explains how a 6-3 court ruling over the ALA (American Library Association) in favor of CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) “requires public schools and libraries that receive Internet-related federal funds to use blocking filters to restrict access to pornography” (safelibraries.blogspot.com, sec. 2, par. 6). But whereas some virus strains are more resistant to vaccines than others, some libraries have been resisting the legal rulings in the interest of free speech. There are a few libraries that have taken the initiative and done the moral, right thing. Some libraries have added filters to stop the access of pornographic material. On Lifepac.org, the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District voted 4-3 to install mandatory filters (lifepac.org, sec. 5). Scrolling down the page a person can view similar stories of libraries installing filters or taking measures to insure pornographic material is not viewed in the library. Besides the moral and ethical battle as to whether pornography is considered worthy of free speech, the characteristic of normal behavior must be factored into the equation. According to the article “Teens and Internet Pornography” by Lynn Margolies PH.D. on Psychcentral.com, “when the motivation is curiosity, the diagnosis could simply be ‘teenager’ or ‘preteen’, the impact benign, and prognosis good” (psychcentral.com, par. 4). However, “Viewing pornography, especially in an ongoing way, can have potentially detrimental effects on children, and may be motivated or perpetuated by loneliness, isolation and compulsion” (psychcentral.com, par. 5). Dr. Margolies believes that by introducing children to sex before they are ready and having no “context” to what sex really is will harm them in their future relationships of “meaning, responsibility, and intimacy” (psychcentral.com, par. 6). Cybersex can become addictive, “leading to a cycle of preoccupation, compulsion, acting out, isolation, self-absorption, shame and depression as well as distorted views of real relationships and intimacy” (psychcentral.com, par. 8). Society has a moral obligation to continue working with legislators and libraries to assure everything is being done to protect not only children of God under the age of 18 but adult children of God as well. Even though God’s Commandments has no direct commandment about sex and or sexual practices in and of itself, it is meant to put sexual practices into the context of a morally wrong, sinful state. The sixth commandment reads, “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery is defined as: “fornication” (christiananswers.net): fornication is defined as, “voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married to each other” (christiananswers.net). Based on the definitions, it is clear that any sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin and since pornography is a sexual activity outside of marriage, we have a moral obligation to use God’s Word to help our case. Some states have included into their legal laws, laws against adultery. They find that the basis for pornographic material is sexual activity outside of marriage and whether or not the reason for the law was based on morals, it definitely is ethical. Society knows that the consequences of doing nothing to prevent God’s children from the sinful acts associated with viewing pornographic material in the public libraries is harmful in many ways. According to Donna Rice Hughes, President of Enough is Enough,
While there are many ways that pornography harms children, I want to assure you that every child who views pornography will not necessarily be affected and, at worst, traumatized in the same way. The effects of pornography are progressive and addictive for many people. Just as every person who takes a drink does not automatically become an alcoholic, every child who is exposed to pornography does not automatically become a sexual deviant or sex addict. However, since pornography has a new door to the home, school, and library through the Internet, it is important for us to look at the many ways that pornography can potentially harm our children (protectkids.com).
The webpage has many categories to explain the effects of how pornography can harm children.
If absolutely nothing is done, then the moral fabric of society breaks down and the chaos of evil will run rampant. Private institutions are guarded against constitutional law when it comes to their belief on what is acceptable or not acceptable, mainly because the private institutions do not receive government funding. Depending on the type of private institution, the moral compass may be different from that of a private religious institution. Most private libraries are found on universities and colleges with the exception of the individual private library. While researching the possibility that a university or college might have access to pornography, policies against pornography on the campus were the norm in their handbooks. Liberal colleges may be big advocates for freedom of speech in just about every function, including freedom of expression, but they too inoculate students from viewing pornographic material through Internet access on campus so that the student stays focused on learning. The ethical decisions might also be based on the monies received from their donors. A person could make the case for Natural Law and the supernatural power of God as it applies to the private institution. The most ethical course of action would be to continue bringing to the halls of justice the necessities of having filters on the computers in public libraries so that both, the young children and adults are protected from the temptations of the sinful act. The individuals who seek to find justice need also to outline why pornography in public libraries serves no values of any kind. The public library is meant to be a source for researching material and educating the public. It is neither ethical nor moral from a constitutional or sociological perspective that a person need to research personal arousal from viewing pornography in a public library.

Works Cited
"Adultery." Adultery (WebBible™ Encyclopedia). N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/adultery.html>.
"Art vs. Pornography." Art vs. Pornography. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.dkeithfuron.com/info_pornart.html>.
"Fornication." Fornication (WebBible™ Encyclopedia). N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/fornication.html>.
"How Pornography Harms Children." How Pornography Harms Children. N.p., n.d. Web. 07
Feb. 2013. <http://www.protectkids.com/effects/harms.htm>.
"Leichtman Research Group | Press Releases." Leichtman Research Group | Press Releases.
N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/press/090412release.html>.
"Legal Issues." Legal Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/pp_li.html>.
"Pornography." Definition of in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English). N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pornography>.
"Pornography." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pornography>.
"PornographyAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now
Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pornography>.
"Pornography and the First Amendment." Pornography and the First Amendment. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/pp_li_pfa.html>.
"Public Libraries & Technology." I Love Libraries. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.ilovelibraries.org/getinformed/technology>.
"SafeLibraries." : CIPA Author Exposes ALA Deception; Ernest Istook Who Authored Children's
Internet Protection Act Calls Out American Library Association for Using Legal Tactics to Claim First Amendment Protection for Public Library Pornography Viewing, Causing
Librarians to Be Indifferent and Leave Children Unprotected. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb.
2013. <http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2012/02/cipa-author-exposes-ala deception.html>. "Teens and Internet Pornography | Psych Central." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb.
2013. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/teens-and-internet-pornography/all/1/>.
"The Bill of Rights and Other Amendments." - U.S. Constitution. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.
<http://usconstitution.com/bill-of-rights>.
"The Constitution of the United States," Amendment 1. "Vancouver Library Board Votes to Add Mandatory Internet Filters." Life Pac of SW
Washington. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://lifepac.org/ss1/libraries/libraries.htm>.