Proposed Ban on "Porn" Angers Soldiers

Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone at 3:13 PM on May 7, 2008.

Should congress ban the sale of Playboy and Penthouse at U.S. military installations? Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga) thinks this is a big enough problem that he needed to introduce legislation to promote a ban on such men’s magazines as “porn”. Soldiers aren’t too happy about it…

Commentary By: Richard Blair

I heard some chatter about this issue not too long ago, but didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. Looks like it’s become a big issue within the military, though:

GRAFENWOHR, Germany — Legislation that would restrict the sale of certain men’s magazines on U.S. military bases around the world would be bad for morale, according to soldiers at Grafenwöhr.

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., has introduced legislation that would close a loophole in the current law that allows the sale of some sexually explicit material on military bases by lowering the threshold required to deem material “sexually explicit.”

A Department of Defense committee that reviews materials sold on bases ruled last year that magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse are not pornographic. But Broun’s Military Honor and Decency Act includes language that could make those magazines eligible for the ban…

…Broun, a Marine veteran, told Newsweek recently that the magazines sold in military exchanges are partly responsible for a rise in sexual assaults in the military and other problems…

Being a veteran myself, I’m not quite sure where to start on this - but how about - STFU, Rep. Broun. You are part of a congressional coalition that is responsible for supporting the continuing quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, and taking the men (and women) away from their families for extended chunks of time. Maybe that has just a little something to do with sexual improprieties among the military? Or perhaps because the Army and Marines have had to lower recruiting standards so low that someone with a felony on their record can now serve?

At the same time, is Broun planning on banning Playgirl and Cosmo? Just asking. Personally don’t consider either Playboy or Penthouse “porn”, and I think it’s a very short trip from banning those two magazines to Maxim and similar mags. Here’s an interesting quote from a soldier:

Pfc. Greg Smith, 21, of Northboro, Mass., a regular Playboy reader, said soldiers should be allowed to buy nudie magazines at the exchange.

“Playboy is good entertainment while you are on the can. They have jokes and good stories,” he said…

“Entertainment”. Hmm, never heard it quite put that way, but no, Pfc. Smith, if you were reading torture porn on the can (which is what the senior leadership in Washington uses), you’d be A-OK with Rep. Broun.

ASZ readers can take it from here.