Op-Ed: Christian State Senator Makes the Case for Banning Porn

Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Dusty Deevers drew national attention two years ago for defeating his Republican and Democratic establishment rivals on an aggressively Christian campaign platform.

From drastic reforms to the tax system to the abolition of abortion, Deevers made clear that his candidacy and tenure in office would center on pursuing policies that orient his state toward the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

Among the proposals that drew the most ire from the leftists, and even some supposed conservatives, was his legislation to outlaw pornography.

Ban Sexting & Porn | Sen. @DustyDeevers & @michaeljknowles pic.twitter.com/lKBuHTHmQP

— The Michael Knowles Show (@MKnowlesShow) February 6, 2024

But in his most recent argument in favor of the policy, Deevers outlined the number of ways in which pornography is a moral and spiritual blight on our nation and how lawmakers have the duty to prohibit such content within their jurisdictions.

“My daughter is 7 years old. She is adorable, kindhearted, and full of life. I would do anything to protect her,” Deevers said in a recent article for Blaze Media.

“Now think about all the 7-year-olds in your life — children, nephews, nieces, neighbor kids. Statistically speaking, 50 percent of them will be exposed to pornography in the next five years. Read this paragraph repeatedly until the gravity of it hits you.”

Deevers made clear that he was not just talking about Playboy magazines, but the “most depraved, hard-core, and often violent sexual intercourse footage ever conceived in the human mind” that can be accessed with a few clicks on any computer or smartphone.

Even worse, Deevers noted that age verification laws passing in many conservative states are “doing little to deter any of this.”

He argued that there is no First Amendment liberty to produce and consume pornography, meaning that lawmakers should not be shy about advancing outright bans.

“We rightly prohibit prostitution. Yet somehow, when the same act is filmed and distributed to millions of people over the internet, prostitution becomes exalted as ‘protected speech.’ This is legal nonsense of the highest order,” Deevers wrote.

“To claim that the founding fathers fought and bled to secure a right to broadcast prostitution is as absurd as it is evil.”

Such a stance is confirmed by a very long history of Western jurisprudence, with the legal doctrine of the Miller Test in our nation serving as the tool for identifying pornographic content.

In essence, according to the Miller Test, material that “appeals to the prurient interest, depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way as defined by contemporary standards, and lacks serious political, educational, or artistic value” is simply not protected by the First Amendment.

“Modern pornography clearly meets all three criteria — except where legislatures have failed to define and prohibit it accordingly,” Deevers added.

The legislation Deevers proposed, known as Senate Bill 593, would accordingly define obscenity by the Miller Test and thereby “outlaw the production, distribution, sale, and possession of obscene pornography in Oklahoma.”

“It would re-establish the state’s authority to prosecute those who profit from the destruction of marriage, innocence, and society,” Deevers continued. “It would empower law enforcement to shut down pornography rings that exploit women and children. It also increases penalties for child pornography.”

Because the American people are increasingly harmed and inflicting harm on others by pornography, a reality seen in trends from elevated divorce rates to higher sexual abuse levels, the culture is increasingly open to bans on pornographic content.

🧵7 Reasons to Abolish Pornography

1. True fulfillment is found in Christ. Instead of the empty promises of porn, Christ offers real satisfaction, peace, and joy. In Him, we find true intimacy and purpose that uplift and restore, filling the void that porn only deepens.

“For he… https://t.co/P6NyQbW2Xi

— Dusty Deevers (@DustyDeevers) November 6, 2024

But the most severe problem caused by pornography is a spiritual one.

“It objectifies people made as God’s image-bearers, reducing them to commodities for gratification, thus defacing the imago Dei and alienating us from our creator,” Deevers wrote. “Neurologically and spiritually, it rewires the brain’s reward pathways, creating addictive filters that pervert sexual perception and fracture body-soul unity, as Jesus warns in Matthew 5:28.”

Deevers then called on the nation to outlaw pornography.

“In legislating against it, we affirm God’s design for humanity,” Deevers wrote. “By enacting such a law, we honor God, protect the vulnerable, and fulfill our duty to promote the common good. What kind of sick society allows pornography? For the sake of children and the survival of the republic, pornography must be abolished.”

This conversation is long overdue, and we should be thankful for Christian lawmakers like Deevers who are making the case for banning pornography.

This type of content has long degraded and disintegrated individual people and the culture at large.

Rather than punting to a First Amendment right to exploitative and explicit content that simply does not exist, Christians should be leading the charge in banning pornography once and for all.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either d or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.

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