New Censorship Bill Turns Parents into Prosecutors

On April 28, California Congressman Duncan Hunter (R) introduced legislation that could “turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity,” the representative told Family.org.

H.B. 4239, also called the “Parents’ Empowerment Act,” would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates any media containing “material that is harmful to minors” if the material is distributed in a way that “a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare.” The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill allows compensatory damages starting at no less than $10,000 for any instance in which a minor is exposed to “harmful to minors” entertainment products. The bill also allows that punitive damages and reasonable fees may be awarded to the prevailing party at the discretion of the court. The bill also seeks to strengthen the current test courts utilize in determining what is obscene material by providing a separate definition of obscenity specifically for children. It is an affirmative defense to action under this bill if a parent or guardian of the minor owned the material.

The bill is in its earliest stage, but if it passes, it will seriously threaten retailers, distributors, and publishers. Family.org talked to Hunter who said, “If the people who published (the material), published it in such a way that they could reasonably have expected children to access it, then the parents can receive an award of $10,000.”

“This bill is troubling on several levels,” explains CBLDF Director Charles Brownstein. “It appears to allow for civil actions against any, or every, member of the dissemination food chain, from the retailer to the distributor to the publisher, of work that an individual parent may object to. So any citizen, using their own sense of what is obscene or harmful to minors, can bring suit. Considering that comics still suffer the cultural and legal stigma of being perceived as a juvenile medium, this bill could become a dangerous weapon in the hands of an individual who walks into a comic book store and is shocked to find that comics offer much more than Archie and Superman.”

Hunter’s bill enjoys the support of several religious, family, and conservative legal groups including the Christian Coalition, the American Center for Law and Justice and the World Family Policy Center at Brigham Young University. Working closely with Media Coalition, the CBLDF will continue to monitor the progress of this bill.

The full text of the bill can be found here. You may also e-mail your representative or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 to voice your concern about this bill to your representative.