Florida’s House lawmakers called for more research on the negative health effects of porn while denying a debate on banning large-capacity clips and assault rifles, which Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz used to carry out the premeditated murder of 17 students. This decision has led to collective face-palming and calls from Democratic lawmakers to focus on the issue of coherent gun control to keep mass shootings from happening.
17 pp in Parkland were just murdered w/an AR-15, + the FL House just passed @RossSpano's HR 157 declaring PORN as a public heath risk. No, GUN VIOLENCE is a public health crisis + Spano blocked HB 219 banning assault weapons in his committee for 2 yrs. #GOPpriorities #Sayfie
— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 20, 2018
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the declaration of pornography as a health risk “states a need for education, research and policy changes to protect Floridians, especially teenagers, from pornography.”
These same lawmakers did not want to debate if AR-15 assault rifles should be banned after another mass shooting.
In January, state representative Ross Spano told Florida’s House Health and Human Services Committee the following:
“Research has found a correlation between pornography use and mental and physical illnesses, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships, unhealthy brain development and cognitive function, and deviant, problematic or dangerous sexual behavior.”
As expected, people are wondering how Florida lawmakers can consider pornography a health risk but not even want to host a debate on assault weapons, which (by definition) are a risk to the health of those on the wrong side of the barrel:
https://twitter.com/_kaburi_/status/966099462681604096
Yes. We all remember that time a gang of porn stars walked into a school and murdered a bunch of innocent children and teachers. Thanks Florida House.
— Annie (@Anniefromkansas) February 20, 2018
So The Florida House really just declared porn is a health risk, yet assault rifles no biggie. Nudity and sex is bad for you, but bullets are totes fine. Thanks Florida
— nick (@24framesofnick) February 21, 2018
So Florida is trying to tell me that PORN is a health risk but ASSAULT WEAPONS are not.
I can promise you that porn is probably de-stressing these kids because they're stressed out from being shot at.
— amanda ✨ (@ahmanduhhjo) February 21, 2018
This isn’t to say the risks around the severe consumption of pornography don’t exist (so far it’s inconclusive), but when held up to each other in a vacuum, it’s clear that this looks like a headline straight out of The Onion.
(Via Buzzfeed/Fox News/Tampa Bay Times)