One lawmaker in Arizona this month introduced a House bill that would charge people in the state $20 to access porn on their own devices.
Paying for porn? Nothing new here, right?
Well, not exactly.
While it is an attempt to block porn with fees and fines — lawmakers want to use the money raised from the law to help fund the border wall.
Bet you never thought you would read those words in the same sentence!
The bill is called the “Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act,” and it would require that all devices sold in Arizona that access the internet would be required to have porn blocker software pre-installed and distributors who fail to do so would be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
According to the Arizona Mirror:
“Republican Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, has introduced House Bill 2444, which would make “distributors” of devices that allow access to the internet install software to make the offending material not viewable. To remove the blocking software, a person would have to pay the state $20.”
And while his name isn’t explicitly on the bill, the legislation’s title is the same as model legislation that was pitched by Cris Sevier.
Sevier is an anti-porn advocate who has been attempting to convince legislators in over 20 states to introduce porn-blocking bills.
The legislation is very similar to legislation introduced in Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Utah, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
Last year, MOTHERBOARD’s Samantha Cole spoke to Sevier, who shared that he his behind many of the a fore mentioned legislation.
He shared how individual states customize the bills but this proposed Arizona bill would be the first to use the fees paid to the state to help “build a border wall between Mexico and this state or fund border security,” the bill states.
“Sometimes states start with putting a spin on it,” Sevier told Cole in 2018. “I’m working on so many versions it’s ridiculous.”
It is not known if Servier is personally involved in the Arizona legislation but both the wording as well as the title of the legislation is eerily similar to legislation proposed in other states, according to MOTHERBOARD.
Each of the bills has glaring, key similarities: to block porn from devices using some type of software that is mandatory for distributors to install, as well as to charge a fee to unblock it — usually, somewhere around $20.
The Arizona version of the legislation would potentially form the “John McCain Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Fund,” which would be ultimately used to fund the border wall Trump has his heart set on.
When asked if the McCain Institute was aware of the bill or the fund, they responded saying:
“We’re not connected to it in any way and best we can tell from asking those who should know, neither is the McCain Family,” a spokesperson shared in an email to MOTHERBOARD.
Sevier goes by Mark Sevier as well as Chris Severe and he is most known for attempting to marry a computer in protest of gay marriage as well as suing Apple for his porn addiction.
Attorneys for the ACLU have been noted saying how his efforts are “an unconstitutional cash grab for an internet filter,” as well as “an attempt to infringe on people’s rights.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has also noted how the bills would be a major blow to free speech.
I don’t know what’s worse….paying for porn or paying for porn to help fund the wall.
But I think we can all agree, it really blows.
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