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LETTER TO EDITOR |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jennifer L. Mann |
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To: Editor, The Morning Call
From: State Rep. Jennifer Mann, D-Lehigh
RE: "Orwellian measure"
Dear Editor:
I am writing to respond to an article that appeared in your March 22 edition regarding H.B. 89, the legislation I authored that would make intentionally viewing child pornography a criminal offense under Pennsylvania law.
I believe Mr. Carpenter missed the mark in defining the problem that prompted me to introduce this bill.
In the case I referred to, a man knowingly viewed 370 child pornography images online. He also admitted that he had intentionally visited the Web sites for the purpose of viewing child pornography. However, he was unaware that his computer was storing the files in a temporary Internet folder, where they could be retrieved, so the case was overturned. He did not, under current Pennsylvania law, "possess" the images.
Mr. Carpenter called intentionally viewing child pornography a "Thought Crime" and referred to me as the "Thought Police" for introducing this bill.
I am not legislating against thought, as Mr. Carpenter said. I am legislating against the actions of child predators. A crime has already taken place – the sexual abuse or exploitation depicted in pictures or on the Internet. By intentionally viewing that material, another crime is being committed. It doesn’t make sense that if 10 people are in a room viewing child pornography, the only person who is legally culpable is the person who "possesses" the material.
Child pornography is child abuse, plain and simple, as is the intentional viewing of it. It furthers the cycle of abuse and entices predators to commit additional crimes against children. My bill passed the House unanimously because it is a good bill designed to close a loophole in the current state law and keep children safe from predators.
This same bill passed the state House unanimously last year, but then spent 21 months in the Senate Judiciary Committee until the end of the legislative session. Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the bill did not contain a satisfactory definition of "intent to view," and cited it as the reason that my bill remains in committee again this legislative session.
The senator has added an amendment to the bill that he said would allay his concerns about the "intent to view" portion of the legislation. I hope to see H.B. 89 move to the Senate floor for a full vote.
As for McCarthyism, we can hardly compare the systematic methods of McCarthy to marginalize people who simply disagreed with his views to stopping the actions of child predators and protecting our children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
Sincerely,
State Rep. Jennifer L. Mann
Rep. Mann is a Democrat from Allentown representing the 132nd Legislative District in the state House.