Age Verification to Access Porn Bill Needs Your Action!
HB1257, the age-verification bill, failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 4-3, sending the bill to the 41st legislative day (thus killing the bill). We wanted a no vote, which would have passed the bill to the Senate for a vote. Because this good bill passed in the House 62-6, we were very disappointed to see it fail in the Senate Committee.
HB1257 would require age verification for anyone seeking access to websites containing material harmful to minors. Pornography is a public health crisis. Currently, minors can download explicit pornography off the internet without proving their age. According to a national survey, 75% of boys and 70% of girls said they had watched online pornography, with the average age they started watching porn at twelve. Children under age 10 make up 22% of porn usage. Eighty percent of teens have seen someone being raped, choked, or in pain through these websites—that is today’s pornography. Pornography produces chemical changes in the brain like an addictive drug, and these images stay in the brain—harming the child’s development.
ACTION: We will attempt to do a smoke-out on Monday, March 4, forcing the bill out of committee and onto the Senate for debate. If the smoke-out is successful, the Senate must then vote to calendar the bill to schedule debate and vote.
Please contact your state senator using our Action Center HERE and urge them to support the smoke-out and to calendar HB1257.
Please pass this on to others for maximum effectiveness.
PRAY: Lord, You beautifully created sex to express and deepen marital love. Please protect our children from this easy access to what has been corrupted and ultimately hurts our children. Please bless the senators with conviction that they will do the right thing and support HB1257. In Christ’s name. Amen.