We feel that the problem is serious, and we want to pass the best possible piece of legislation to end this sordid activity. We would, therefore, greatly appreciate it if you would expeditiously schedule hearings on these bills. Sincerely, John M. Murphy, Albert H. Quie, Clarence Brown, Tom Bevill, Wil- APPENDIX E-3 LETTERS FROM CHURCH GROUPS AND PRACTITIONERS Hon. JOHN CONYERS, DEAR CONGRESSMAN CONYERS: The Child Abuse Prevention Act, H.R. 3914, which is before the House Subcommittee on Crime, has come to the attention of the members of the First Wesleyan Church of Alexandria. We are very concerned with the protection of our children from sexual exploitation and would like to support the provisions of this Bill. Therefore, the undersigned persons are wholeheartedly in favor of the passage of H.R. 3914: Sincerely yours, Rev. J. E. KRAUS, GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, Rep. JOHN CONYERS, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee, DEAR SIR: The Social Concerns Commission of Grace United Methodist Church in Hamilton, Ohio, is anxious to inform you that we strongly support the Bill, H.R. 3913, dealing with child abuse in the field of pornography, and with persons and organizations responsible for such abuse. As a concerned Christian group, we hope that you, also, will be supporting this Bill. Sincerely, Mrs. JOHN GLINS, NOTE: Please send any correspondence to Mrs. Ruth Burns, Commission Chairman using the Church address. CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIL, Hon. PETER W. RODINO, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN RODINO: In the past we have had occasion to be grateful to you for facilitating hearings in Congressman Edwards' subcommittee on the abortion issue. I write personally and in behalf of the Chritsian Action Council to commend you for your projected inquiry into the abominable practices of Child pornography and homosexual prostitution. This no less than Watergate needs a dynamic follow-through. Please spare no effort to secure justice. Does it occur to you that there may be a connection between the abortion-ondemand mentality and this obscene traffic? After all, if the protection of developing human lives from death is of no "compelling state interest," will not some people find it plausible to engage in this degrading commerce in young lives? Sincerely yours, HAROLD O. J. BROWN, Chairman. CENTRAL POINT, OREG., May 26, 1977. SIR: There has been a lot of concern in our church about the use of children in pornography. Our hearts go out to these children and we feel we should do something to help. All we know to do is to pray, and write letters to those who can make laws to protect all people from this hard-core pornography, especially children, as soon as possible. We know that you are sickened by this too, and we want you to know that we are behind you. Thank you. Mrs. VIRGINIA PATTERSON. Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., UNIVERSITY OF DENVER, Denver, Colo., August 26, 1977. Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime, Congress of the United States, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Représentatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CONYERS: Thank you for your letter of August 10, 1977 and for the enclosed copy of the Bill H.R. 3913. My apologies for the delay of my response. The latter was due to an extended European trip. I believe that Federal legislation relating to sexual abuse of children is long ovedue. Please allow me to congratulate the Congress, the House Committee on the Judiciary, and your Committee for the efforts to combat and possibly prevent the social ill reflected in sexual abuse of children. Sexual abuse of children, I have speculated and expressed in the training I am conducting throughout this country, Canada, and some European countries, far exceeds the incidence of physical abuse of children. This may be due to (1) a progressive pleasure conditioning of children (not as much present in physical abuse) which prevents children from informing societal sources outside the family; (2) a direct involvement of the adult family environment of the child for the purpose of monetary and/or own sexual gratification; and (3) the sexual stimulation provided through various societal means (porno movies and other mass media) to the adult world in our society frequently encourages satisfaction by resorting to the innocent and defenseless child. Photographing children as it has appeared in the porno market is a form of sexual abuse for (1) it exploits the child at the time that such a child is photographed and (2) such photographs provide a stimulant for certain adults to sexually attack children. I agree that sexual abuse of children (including the photographing of children) is a form of child abuse. The emotional and exploitation adverse impact onto the sexually abused child is far greater than the impact of physical abuse of children. The latter, I believe, is due to the following: the sexually abused child eventually discovers that most of his/her peers have not been sexually exploited by their adult family and/or other environment as compared to the physically abused child who usually discovers that most of his/her peers were "also" corporally punished (i.e., the mind of the average child could not possibly make the distinction between corporal punishment and physical abuse for in many instances the line of demarcation between the two is very thin.) Thus we need separate laws for the sexual abuse of children. My review of some state laws relating to sexual abuse of children has left me unimpressed for (1) they are very broad, (2) they have no provisions (rightly so) for interstate transporting, selling, etc. and (3) the penalties imposed upon the violators are ridiculously light. Again, the latter necessitates Federal law (s). My overall impression of H.R. 3913 is very positive. However, I would like to offer for the Committee's consideration two suggestions for inclusion which could be stated as follows: (1) Additional provisions in the law ought to be made which shall assign responsibility to the parents of any child "to provide the appropriate supervision so that the child will not be subjected to any form of sexual abuse committed by family and/or others." This could serve as a provision of prevention. (2) Additional provisions in the law ought to be made which shall assign responsibility to the family to seek total family treatment by a recognized community resource if the sexual abuse has been inflicted to the child (ren) by a family member(s). Also, this provision could serve a preventive goal for we know from experience that a child may imitate his/her parent(s) when later in his/her life parental roles might be assumed. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts. ALEXANDER G. ZAPHIRIS, ED.D., Professor. HENDRIKA B. CANTWELL, M.D., Denver, Colo., August 25, 1977. Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR REPRESENTATIVE CONYERS: It is very flattering to receive a letter from the Congress of the United States and to be asked for an opinion! This is in response to your letter of August 10, 1977 concerning H.R. 3913, 89th Congress First Session. Our youngest son very carefully selected the college he attended because he wished to attend its excellent business school. He has always been very committed to the capitalist system and hoped to start his own business venture. After the first year he came home very disappointed and changed his major. It seemed that the problem was that the teaching focused on the idea that any business which makes money is a good business regardless of the quality of the product. To him this seemed an immoral attitude. The fact that a product might be physically or morally harmful to the consumer, or one of poor quality, was evidently considered to be subservient to the business concept that making money would make it an acceptable business product. If that is indeed a widespread attitude, then pornography is very successful, and by implication that makes it acceptable. Tragically, attempting to make a lucrative business illegal has not met with much success (to mind come the period of prohibition, heroin traffic, and prostitution). In addition, is the penalty of $50,000 realistic for such a profitable business? It apparently generates large amounts of money and $50,000 may not be enough to deter anyone when the stakes are so high. Experience over many years has convinced me that the children who are preyed upon are available for a reason. Often they are runaways who may well be escaping from an abusive home. As an example, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse play a major role in the lives of the drifting young. They may be the children who have been sent out of the home by parents or are totally unsupervised or cared for. They may even be encouraged to participate by parents since the pay is good. I would suggest that some part of the bill should address itself to parents. If by commission or omission they have failed to provide reasonable protection for their minor children, I feel that they should be dealt with within the jurisdiction of their state according to its child protection laws. The child's availability to the pornographic business enterprise constitutes a form of serious neglect. The parents or responsible adults must at least be able to show that they were concerned (i.e. attempted to find the minor who ran away or have asked for help through Social Services or other counseling services or have filed a CHINS petition). If forced to be referred under child abuse and neglect statutes, hopefully some treatment may be made available to the minor. My other concern is that a strong demand generally generates a supply. Should not a deterrent be included which addresses itself to the purchaser? Mainly, I would like to support you in the effort made so far. The bill is delightfully short and succinct. Perhaps my suggestions could be included equally briefly. E.g. "Any person actively soliciting the purchase of pornographic material which portrays children in the above mentioned activities shall be fined and/or serve a prison term," and "If the identity of the minor child is known, the parents must be held accountable under the law dealing with child abuse and neglect." Sincerely, HENDRIKA CANTWELL, M.D., Pediatric Consultant, Denver Department of THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, New York, N.Y., August 24, 1977. Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Subcommittee on Crime, Congress of the United States, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN CONYERS: Thank you for your inquiry regarding H.R. 3913 in your letter of August 10th. 1977. However, any comments or opinions expressed are not intended to reflect any official, formal position and/or statement of The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, but are personal opinions made in my individual capacity. I am not familiar with Title 18, United States Code, and its existing provisions which may or may not affect an evaluation of H.R. 3913. The citation of the proposed Act as the "Child Abuse Prevention Act" is misleading. The Act is not concerned with child abuse as a recognized form of adult behavior directed toward children. In the professional field of child protective services, "child abuse" as a phenomenon involves acts of commission directed toward a child by a parent or guardian which adversely affects the child, with the need for intervention and responsibility to offer protection to the child victim and related services to the family. Further, to limit sexual abuse as defined by H.R. 3913 is misleading. The sexual abuse of children certainly is not limited to their use in film or picture making. The sexual abuse of children, as identified by child protective services, is a much more extensive and pervasive problem than the limits of H.R. 3913. Sexual abuse is recognized as children who have been victims of overt sexual acts, committed upon them, who need protection. The focus of H.R. 3913 is the use of children in pornographic pictures and/or films, and the criminal sanctions to be imposed therefor. There is in existence in most of the states, penal laws for offenses relating to children and the endangerment of their welfare. In addition, a number of states are passing new criminal sanctions comparable to the proposed federal bill. It would be more appropriate to continue the violations on a state level, rather than a federal level, and encourage their greater enforcement by the appropriate local, legal agencies. In addition, there must also be due consideration given to existing federal interstate commerce laws, and the criminal penalties involved. To create special legislation in this specific area only lends itself to potential sensationalism and exploitation of children. An analysis of existing state and federal criminal laws also seems appropriate in order to determine if there is a need for the federal legislation as is now being proposed. I have refrained from commenting on the potential legal problems legislation of this kind may encounter under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Even if passed by the United States Congress, and signed by the President, the impediments of litigation in the Courts could delay its enforcement endlessly. Therefore, a concerted effort to utilize existing laws seems to be a more effective approach to pornography. Child protective services are concerned with the exploitation of children in pornography. However, it cannot be maximized too emphatically that the preexisting conditions which catapult children into pornography is the area that must be identified and serviced: broken homes, physical and sexual abuse within the home, violent marital friction, alcoholism, and ultimately the runaway. To consider legislation that would mandate not only services to the abused and neglected child, and appropriate monies for such services would unquestionably be a contribution to the care and protection of our most vulnerable and defenseless asset-the children of the United States. Sincerely, Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., HORTENSE R. LANDAU, Executive Director. RENE GUYON SOCIETY, Beverly Hills, Calif., May 25, 1977. Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime, House Committee of the Judiciary, National Capitol Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Our group wishes to testify on HR 3913, the child sex film bill. Are you going to hold any hearings on the West Coast? Please advise the name of the chief clerk of the Judiciary Committee. Respectfully submitted, TIM O'HARA. Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., RENE GUYON SOCIETY, Beverly Hills, Calif., June 13, 1977. Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR SIR: Thank you for your comprehensive and well-thought-out letter of May 31st. Enclosed you will find the requested written outline or draft of what would be the substance of our statement for testimony. The outline may not be understandable word-by-word but gives a sampling of where our testimony derives its stands and the many sources of our research. It is the result of 12 years and the input from at least 100 scholars. Many of them repeated themselves because it seems the stand of the Guyon Society existed decades before it was formed by a group of 7 married couples and one single lady 12 years ago. We have taken the liberty of putting the lines of reasoning in two columns since they follow the unique division of dogma vs science or left-wing vs rightwing. Our group was formed of conservative people who wanted to end the trashing of the private and public wealth of this Nation by neurotic children and neurotic adults. I have taken the liberty of enclosing also two of our many exhibits. We have attracted over the years many people from the civil rights and other movements. People who feel Progress requires change and the shucking off of ancient untruths. These people carry mental and physical scars from harassment, damage to their personal property, etc. As a result we have not invested in an office nor a telephone. Everywhere we go to testify on TV, radio or lecturing at meetings or colleges, we meet with applause and often standing ovations. Perhaps it is we, not the backers of HR 3913 and HR 4571, who have the backing of the Public. We hope that you will have Los Angeles hearings. TIM O'HARA. OUTLINE OF THE 40-MINUTE LECTURE BY THE GUYON SOCIETY JUNE 7, 1977SUGGESTED VERSION FOR SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (Jewish book, "The Talmud," approves early sexuality (early as 3 years) Golden Age of Greece 40 BC teacher-student sexuality glorified) New Testament written 100 AD. 400 AD St. Augustine of Hippo, N. Africa, creates Body Guilt for political control-son suicides at age 19. Rome falls 425 AD., Augustine blamed barbarians try to get Augustine; few words added to New Testament. |