An anti-porn group has demanded the Pentagon take dirty magazines off the shelves at military bases because they are ‘sexually exploitative’.
The Morality in Media organization, which runs the website, Porn Harms, says military wives have complained to them that the easy access to porn at bases is breaking up their marriages.
It is also linking Playboys and other explicit magazines with sexual assault issues in the military.
‘Pornography is sexually exploitative, the military has a sexual exploitation problem, and this is contributing to that,’ deputy executive director for Morality in Media, Casey Capozzoli, tells News Channel 3.
The group is going after the Pentagon for selling dirty magazines to sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen in base exchanges around the world.
‘Men are coming back from deployments addicted to pornography …It’s almost like your husband is cheating on you,’ Capozzoli says.
Selling sexually explicit material on base is against the law, according to the Military Honor and Decency Act, which was passed in 1996.
Porn harms: The website run by Morality in Media says military’s porn problem is linked to sexual assault.
The Morality in Media group was not successful when it first tried to petition Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
But when they approached Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, right before an Armed Services Committee hearing, their plea was heard.
‘These are pictures given to me of magazines being sold at an Air Force Exchange, our culture is awash in sexual activity,’ said Senator Sessions at the hearing.
That picture of rows of dirty magazines was snapped at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where more than 40 instructors have been accused – most of them convicted – of having inappropriate sexual relations with female basic trainees.
The committee’s ensuing report for the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill 2014, released in June, directs military officials to start the process of pulling the magazines off the shelves.
Not everyone agrees with the move, however.
‘With people losing jobs … this is the most important thing they could come up with? It’s foolish, we have a lot of other stuff we need to worry about, instead of dirty magazines and selling them on base,’ a Department of Defense civilian worker tells News Channel 3.
The Pentagon has 180 days to start reviewing the policy in the Appropriations Bill as per the Senate’s instructions.
