The Republican Party has declared pornography a “public health crisis” in its 2016 platform, as an amendment over the issue was approved during deliberations on Monday.
“The internet must not become a safe haven for predators,” the amendment, proposed by North Carolina delegate Mary Frances Forrester, reads. “Pornography, with its harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions.”
“We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and well-being,” it continues. “We applaud the social networking sites that bar sex offenders from participation. We urge energetic prosecution of child pornography which closely linked to human trafficking.”
The proposed text passed the platform committee with little debate.
Forrester told Yahoo News that she worked with the group Concerned Women for America to craft the language.
“[Pornography is] such an insidious epidemic and there are no rules for our children,” she said. “It seems to be for young people, they do not have the discernment and so they become addicted before they have the maturity to understand the consequences.”
In addition to approving Forrester’s amendment, the committee also rejected a proposal to remove text from the platform “encouraging state legislators to offer the Bible as a literature curriculum and elective.” It likewise rejected a proposal to soften language on the party’s stance on marriage, including a suggestion by openly homosexual Rachel Hoff, who wanted the platform to acknolwedge “the diversity of opinion within our own party on the issue of marriage.”
