The Republican Party’s 2016 platform now includes a new anti-porn amendment, which was approved unanimously by delegates on Monday. This comes hot on the heels of Utah, whose governor signed legislation declaring pornography a “public health crisis” earlier this year. According to the new draft of the GOP’s platform, this is really happening:
“Pornography, with his 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.”
The amendment was proposed by Mary Forrester, a North Carolina delegate, who drafted it with help from conservative Christian group Concerned Women for America to prevent children from “becoming porn addicts.” She told Yahoo! News that the amendment was needed because, “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.”
This new stance on pornography is much harsher than that of the party’s 2012 platform, which focused primarily on implementing stricter child-pornography laws and obscenity laws. The Republican platform also grew more socially conservative in other ways, including declaring that marriage is between a man and a woman and calling on the Supreme Court to overturn its decision on same-sex marriage.
(via Yahoo! News)