Utah Congressman Sets Sights On Obscenity Jurisdiction

Washington, DC--Utah Representative Chris Cannon has introduced legislation that would take away the Supreme Court's ability to hear state obscenity cases and, in essence, uphold the U.S. Constitution.

HR 5528, a.k.a. the Pornography Jurisdiction Act, intends to limit the ability of federal courts to reverse state court decisions as to what is obscene material.

The Act states that "no court created by an Act of Congress shall have jurisdiction, and, the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide whether a State pornography law imposes a constitutionally invalid restriction of the freedom of expression."

In other words, Mr. Cannon envisions a world where States can pass whatever ass-backwards obscenity laws they see fit and face no challenge from the Supreme Court.

"It is not the job of the courts to legislate," said Cannon. "My legislation puts the power to protect families back in the hands of the states, where it rightfully belongs. If there are those who believe a state's anti-pornography laws are too strict, they can find another state in which to live."

Whoa, C-dog. You mean that even if I was born in your state (Ah, Utah) , went to your schools, got Jesus and abstinence education shoved down my throat, knocked some Mormon cheerleader up because I didn't know what a condom was, then, because I couldn't afford to go to college, had to take a job for $5.15 an hour at a donut factory, and I thought my states laws governing pornography were in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America and the First Amendment, you'd tell me to move to fucking Arizona?

Well, fuck you.

Fortunately for our hypothetical porn lover, most believe the Act has little chance of passing.

According to First Amendment attorney Reed Lee, "the United States Supreme Court and the state courts set up long ago that there are limits to state's rights in the federal system. One of those limits is that on federal law issues, including what the United States Constitution reads, the United States government, and particularly the judiciary, has the final word... and state judges shall be bound by oath to support that constitution as the supreme law of the land."

Sounds like Rep. Cannon is just fishing for conservative votes, but we shouldn't let our elected officials waste our resources on their petty personal agendas. Leave Mr. Cannon a comment on The Hills Congress Blog or email him at cannon.ut03@mail.house.gov.