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[Kaladin]

There's a bill out there that might initially irk people across the country, but could be a boon for curbing what President Donald Trump once called an "epidemic." It's called the Human Trafficking Prevention Act and it proposes a tax on porn – and lawmakers from approximately a dozen states are mulling it over.

If passed, consumers would have to pay a single $20 tax to access pornography on any new computer or phone. States like South Carolina, Georgia and Texas are looking into variants of the bill, while North Dakota and Wyoming, for instance, have squashed it.

Advocates contend porn is a public health issue. In their minds, taxing it could help curb sex trafficking, for example. According to the act's website,"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one's emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

"What we know about pornography is that it's addictive. It actually affects the brain," Kathleen Winn of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network told 3TV/CBS 5. "Like any drug, like an addiction, you need more and more and more of it to get the same reaction from it as the first time you saw it. So yes, I absolutely believe pornography is contributing to the growing criminal enterprise of sex trafficking."

Trump has said he would fight human trafficking, which he called an "epidemic." In the U.S. alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline learned of 22,191 sex trafficking cases since 2007, according to Polaris, a nonprofit that works to combat human trafficking. The International Labor Organization approximates 4.5 million people are stuck in "forced sexual exploitation" across the world.

The money from the proposed tax would go to organizations opposing human trafficking, sexual assault and domestic violence, reports 3TV/CBS 5. Those in favor of the bill want to push it federally soon.

But is the act constitutional?

Not according to Russ Richelsoph, an Arizona attorney. "While I'm not advocating pornography, it is a form of speech. It is protected by the First Amendment, and it is a problem if they're trying to create a tax to prevent people from engaging in that form of speech," he told 3TV/CBS 5.

While pornography has historically been taboo, it's not always easy to define. As the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once famously said: "I know it when I see it."

I don't know if this gets passed, but it's the kinda bs I can see getting passed with Trump as President.

http://health.usnews.com/wellness/h...rn-tax-would-fight-human-trafficking-epidemic

Tax me if old.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

what would this mean for visitors

 

[Count Dookkake]

Or we could tax the church.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Funny, I call it extortion.

 

[SwipeLeftHoney]

Or we could tax the church.

Love this idea. Take away the major tax breaks they already have...

 

[FairyD]

"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

I can personally assure you that this won't be the case.

 

[liquidtmd]

But i want my Pee pee videos for free

 

[Orin GA]

Seems like hes just looking for a way to make some cash for his buddies

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I could live without.

 

[cirrhosis]

That spank bank will come in handy now.

 

[ColdPizza]

Crime will go up.

 

[PillarEN]

Tax the prudes that don't watch it.

I can personally assure you that this won't be the case.

Yeah hahahah. This seems like it will do the exact opposite.

 

[Technosteve]

Republicnas sure love big government over reach

 

[Snagret]

It's called the Human Trafficking Prevention Act

Oh fuck off. Take some pocket change from your dumbass wall if you need funding to fight human trafficking.

 

[R10Neymarfan]

Porn Industry is huge and they won't allow for this to happen.

 

[FyreWulff]

yes let's just make people pay an unenforcable subscription fee to view porn instead of building out mental health facilities and sexual health counseling, and also not do any actual thing about trafficking

 

[liquidtmd]

So I can film myself having sex, upload it and the Government makes money off my back?

I want a cut!

I can personally assure you that this won't be the case.

Yup.

"Do i pay $20 to watch porn, or out that $20 towards a prostitute?"

 

[Ogodei]

Seems like hes just looking for a way to make some cash for his buddies

Yup, it's a scam, because who's going to supply the blocker that's installed on all devices sold?

Ignoring the fact that you can just buy things from out-of-state, and it's not like Dell's going to set aside PC's marked as appropriate for sale in Georgia from the general population.

 

[Chezzymann]

I'll just pirate it then

 

[Imperfected]

There has to be a tipping point whereupon they've simply made life so miserable for people living in Republican stronghold states that no one's there by choice.

 

[Daedardus]

Great, while we're at it, you have to pay $10 tax everytime you date someone new. After all, the temptation to date someone to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act. It would also mean you stick around longer with the same date, promoting American family values.

 

[Indelible]

I highly doubt this will happen, sounds like pure BS.

 

[Somnid]

Porn companies will move to states that don't have porn taxes, on the consumer side nobody will properly list it and the IRS won't have the budget to enforce it. But oh boy if TurboTax asks me to list all the devices my household watches porn on.

 

[MadeULook]

This probably won't accomplish anything aside from more people just pirating porn.

 

[How About No]

Lol they're still trying to push this dumb thing?

 

[Borgnine]

"What we know about pornography is that it's addictive. It actually affects the brain," Kathleen Winn of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network told 3TV/CBS 5. "Like any drug, like an addiction, you need more and more and more of it to get the same reaction from it as the first time you saw it. So yes, I absolutely believe pornography is contributing to the growing criminal enterprise of sex trafficking."

Quite a leap there. Porn is so addicting that it causes you to suddenly engage in a completely different and criminal activity. Like I play so much Halo that eventually I'm going to need to shoot someone in the face to get my fix.

 

[shnurgleton]

And the first person to pay would be Trump

 

[ZOONAMI]

"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

Wait what? Having to pay a tax they will have records or for porn? I think a lot of people would actually stop watching porn if there was a tax involved, and this would lead to an increase in prostitution, not a decrease.

 

[Orin GA]

Porn companies will move to states that don't have porn taxes, on the consumer side nobody will properly list it and the IRS won't have the budget to enforce it. But oh boy if TurboTax asks me to list all the devices my household watches porn on.

Id pay $20 to see that

 

[Xe4]

Yeah, and any legitimate free services of free porn (Pornhub, Redtube, etc) would go away. Porn itself would not, meaning there would be more illegitimate porn sites showing pirated and homemade videos and shit.

This is a terrible idea.

 

[Arkeband]

I hope they're ready to tax DEEZ NUTS

wait

 

[Maintenance]

Will be much harder for Trump to find a new wife then.

 

[Morat]

Or we could tax the church.

Yup. No tax breaks for them.

 

[Skyzard]

What

Human Trafficking Prevention Act and it proposes a tax on porn

And the lawyer's defense is porn is free speech, mah free speech.

smh

 

[Angry Grimace]

The biggest reason this will never pass is because Republicans 1) love porn and 2) hate taxes.

This is a direct tax increase on porn.

 

[jayu26]

Advocates contend porn is a public health issue. In their minds, taxing it could help curb sex trafficking, for example. According to the act's website,"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

By charging one time $20 activation fee they are going to reduce the temptation to hire a prostitute? Yeah, I am going to need scientific studies on that.

 

[Goro Majima]

"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

Wait what? Having to pay a tax they will have records or for porn? I think a lot of people would actually stop watching porn if there was a tax involved, and this would lead to an increase in prostitution, not a decrease.

May even lead to an increase in sexual assault.

This is an incredibly terrible idea

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

I hope they're ready to tax DEEZ NUTS

wait

NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!

It seems like they just put these out there like they are doing something but actually not getting shit done at all.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I mean, I would pay the porn tax, I'd just be annoyed by it, and I suspect it would be deeply unpopular if not actively impossible to practically implement.

 

[see5harp]

You know you live in a shitty state when Wyoming and North Dakota are ahead of you in the common sense race.

 

[C.Mongler]

"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

Are they arguing that if I have to pay $20 for porn that I wouldn't shell out $100 for a prostitute? Or that I would just never be tempted to canoodle my noodle in the first place because I would not want to pay for either? Both situations sound ridiculous.

On the technical side, how in God's name would they enforce this? An honesty system? I'm sure folks will be as honest as teenagers are when they hit the "Are you over 18?" message on their favorite spank bank.

 

[Brandon F]

Advocates contend porn is a public health issue. In their minds, taxing it could help curb sex trafficking, for example. According to the act's website,"The temptation to hire a prostitute to deal with one’s emotional challenges will be reduced tremendously by this act."

How does this work exactly?

 

[Kurdel]

This won't survive the supreme court and they know it.

But they will win points with their base for trying to "do something" about porn.

This is the 3d chess that keeps the GOP popular among conservatives: their theatrical game in on another level.

How does this work exactly?

 

[Dr.Acula]

http://www.cpcc.ca/en/frequently-asked-questions

Canada has a levy on media (CD-R) that goes to music copyright holders/producers.

 

[Wilsongt]

South Carolina tried something like this where every internet capable device would have a lock on porn in it and the only way to get it removed was to pay the state $20

 

[TheOohChild]

Are they arguing that if I have to pay $20 for porn that I wouldn't shell out $100 for a prostitute? Or that I would just never be tempted to canoodle my noodle in the first place because I would not want to pay for either? Both situations sound ridiculous.

On the technical side, how in God's name would they enforce this? An honesty system? I'm sure folks will be as honest as teenagers are when they hit the "Are you over 18?" message on their favorite spank bank.

Yeah, I think they are hoping $20 will act as a deterrent to watching porn, and this will result in all these former porn addicts no longer bothering illegally trafficked prostitutes, thus ending sex trafficking forever. Makes perfect sense.

 

[rjinaz]

Republicans continue to punish themselves.

Human trafficking is horrific of course, but this is not the way to go about stopping it.

 

[perfectchaos007]

While pornography has historically been taboo, it's not always easy to define. As the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once famously said: "I know it when I see it."

I know how the FCC has defined it, in practice. Bare female nipples are considered porn unless it belongs to an indigenous African woman. Bare buttocks and any exposed genitalia or pubic hair are porn. The act of sex is not porn if the above qualifications aren't met, which is why you can sometimes see sex scenes on tv. As long as theres no nudity shown, its not porn

 

[FyreWulff]

How does this work exactly?

Legit their idea is that people wouldn't want to end up on a public "wants to watch porn" list so they'll just bury the urge out of shame rather than treatment. aka, 100% puritanical bullshit.

Being addicted to porn is a legitimate thing and does deserve effort for treatment. Using shame to basically bury it under the sand isn't the solution.

 

[tearsintherain]

what if i get off on pictures of spaghetti