WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire (http://www.prnewswire.com)/ -- Remarks by President Bush in signing of H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006:
THE PRESIDENT: "Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Welcome and good afternoon. In a few moments I will sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Twenty-five years ago today, Adam Walsh was abducted from a department store and he was later found murdered. In the years since, his parents, John and Reve Walsh, have become advocates for missing children. They've helped combat child abduction and exploitation across this country. And the bill I sign today will strengthen federal laws to protect our children from sexual and other violent crimes, will help prevent child pornography, and will make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters. I want to thank you all for joining us today, and thank you for your tireless crusade..." (Applause.)
"I'm a parent. As a matter of fact, most of the adult webmasters I know are parents. We abhor child pornographers and it would be really nice if legislators took the time to understand that."
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Adam Walsh was the son of "America’s Most Wanted host", John Walsh. Mr. Walsh’s six-year old son was abducted and murdered in 1981. Anyone familiar with the story knows that Adam Walsh’s killer has never been found. John Walsh started "America’s Most Wanted" as a way to empower crime victims by giving their cases national coverage as well as implementing a phone hotline. Many criminals have been caught because of "America’s Most Wanted". Probably nothing can assuage Mr. Walsh’s grief but his efforts to bring closure and justice to others is heroic.
John Walsh has long been a proponent of a National Sex Offender Registry. The intent of which is to give law enforcement a tool to aid them in locating potential suspects easily and quickly. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is the realization of John’s dream.
I’m a parent. As a matter of fact, most of the adult webmasters I know are parents. Despite what some legislators and moralists think, we love our children deeply and would do anything to keep them safe from harm. There is a lot to love in this new law. The National registry is a great idea because time is of the essence in child abduction cases. Who can argue with giving cops a means for determining if that cheesy creep down the street is a known sex offender? When your kid tells you the daycare worker touched them inappropriately, the Registry can help the police determine if your case has merit. I don’t know any adult webmaster parent that would argue with the basic intent of this new law.
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Then again, I don’t know any adult webmasters that had a problem with the first or second versions of Title 18 2257 - better known as the Traci Lords law. Traci Lords was an underage model that lied her way into the porn industry. 2257 made it a crime for photographers to shoot sexually explicit material without verifying and keeping a record the age of the models involved. As professionals that provide adult entertainment for adults, our industry been more than willing to comply with 2257 record keeping requirements.
We are not child pornographers. We abhor child pornographers and it would be really nice if legislators took the time to understand that. But no such luck. As far as the US Government and the DOJ are concerned, adult webmasters are guilty until proven innocent. If the law decides to bring us up on obscenity charges, it’s up to us to defend our work and hope that we pass the standards of the communities in which we reside.
In 2004, then Attorney General John Ashcroft amended the record keeping requirements for sexually explicit works. Title 18 2257 went from a three-page document to a unreadable mess of nit-picking demands for every URL from not just the original photographer but from practically every webmaster that posts a nudie picture on a commercial website. Even worse, the amended 2257 demanded that the model’s real name and address be revealed to inspectors and resultantly, any goon with $30.0 to spend of set of pics.
Fortunately, the Free Speech Coalition is fighting these amended requirements in court and has managed to obtain an injunction for FSC members. While the industry is once again doing what the law requires,
the House, the Senate and the President went and changed the law and you will find those changes in sections 502, 503 and 2257A of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Once again, we’re all primary producers, even affiliates.
To read the entire law or just the pertinent sections, visit http://thomas.loc.gov. Type in HR 4472 and click the radio button by the term Search by Bill Number. To understand the law and its
implication for you, please consult a lawyer. To become a member of the Free Speech Coalition, visit http://freespeechcoalition.com.
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