Democrats “would rather stand with Big Porn than American parents and children,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling says.
By Catholics for Catholics
Senate Democrats garnered a backlash from Republicans for opposing legislation that would require pornography websites to verify the ages of the user before permitting explicit content, according to a story by the Daily Wire.
Republicans accused the Senate Democrats of siding with the pornography industry over protecting children online.
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted 15-13 along party lines to advance Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act. Still, the bill failed to move forward because the committee lacked the quorum required for official action.
Four Republicans were not physically present for the vote and were “ayes” by proxy, but proxy votes don’t count toward quorum. Four Democrats were similarly absent and were “noes” by proxy.
If approved, the SCREEN Act would have required commercial pornography websites to enforce age verification technology designed to stop minors from having access to sexually explicit material. In addition, the legislation would permit the Federal Trade Commission to apply the requirements and prohibit websites or third-party verification providers from retaining or selling personal information collected during the verification process.
Conservative organizations blasted the Democrats for unanimously opposing the bill.
“The porn industry is preying on America’s children for profit, and now it is doing it with the support of Democrat lawmakers,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told The Daily Wire. “The 13 Senate Democrats who voted against the SCREEN Act today made it perfectly clear: they would rather stand with Big Porn than American parents and children.”
“We will not back down until families across America are protected from the porn industry and the lawmakers who defend it,” Schilling continued. “The Democrats have a choice. They can join the effort to protect kids online, or they can face the political consequences of standing with the porn companies. Today, 13 of them chose poorly.”
The members of the Democratic committee members include: Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
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