A family was enjoying food at their local Burger King in Michigan. The father notices his two boys are staring at the television screen hanging in the restaurant. When he looks up, he realizes that playing on the screen is a scene from a pornographic movie. That was certainly not something they ordered, or appreciated.

Some have argued that pornography is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Saying it is “art” or that it constitutes “speech” means that pornography is just another form of communication that must be protected.

But we know this isn’t true. If porn is just another form of speech, art, or communication, why are people embarrassed to be caught publicly viewing it? Why does a spouse hide their habit of viewing porn? Why we do we work hard to keep porn from our kids? It’s because intellectually we know that there is something wrong with porn.

Consider for a moment why we don’t invite people to our house to watch us engage in sexual activity. When is the last time your friend, neighbor, or co-worker said “Hey, how about stopping over tonight to watch me and the wife have sex.”? Such an invitation would be met with shock, disgust, and a genuine concern for the well-being of the other person.

And yet, somehow, porn is seen as different. Viewing two people engaged in sexual activity through a computer screen is somehow considered appropriate in the privacy of your own home. The anonymity of the internet has created people that disassociate themselves from their actions. This of course underlies the intimate, private nature of sex that is lost on supporters of porn. They would take what is supposed to be intimate and private and make it public, for profit.

Then there’s the long-term effect on the attitude of people towards sexual relations. Men especially seem prone to engage in casual sex, believing that what they watch in porn is theirs for the taking. Perhaps the current #metoo movement can be partially blamed on the porn industry creeping into every corner of our culture.

Writing at the New York Times, Ross Douthat says one path towards developing better men is to ban porn. He writes:

“So if you want better men by any standard, there is every reason to regard ubiquitous pornography as an obstacle — and to suspect that between virtual reality and creepy forms of customization, its influence is only likely to get worse. But unlike many structural forces with which moralists of the left and right contend, porn is also just a product — something made and distributed and sold, and therefore subject to regulation and restriction if we so desire. The belief that it should not be restricted is a mistake; the belief that it cannot be censored is a superstition. Law and jurisprudence changed once and can change again, and while you can find anything, somewhere on the internet, making hard-core porn something to be quested after in dark corners would dramatically reduce its pedagogical role, its cultural normalcy, its power over libidos everywhere.”

Douthat is right. Not every piece of art or communication should be protected. It’s illegal to yell “fire” on an airplane if there isn’t a fire. Why are we so unwilling to stand up for censorship against an evil that is destroying our culture?

Unfortunately, Douthat connects the failure to make porn illegal with religious conservatives. I agree. Plenty of press has been given to the spike in porn rentals at hotels when religious conventions and conferences are in town. The reason porn is so prevalent today could be due to Christians helping grow the trillion dollar industry. That Douthat connects “religious conservatives” with a failure to regulate porn is sad.

I want to believe that Christians don’t know the terrible effect porn has on themselves, their families, and the culture at large. But that means Christians either don’t care or are ignorant. Neither is fitting one calling God Father. Matt Walsh, writing at The Daily Wire, details some of the side-effects: prostitution and sex-trafficking, bondage, abuse of children.

Surely these things matter. Eradicating these things has to be more important than the sinful pleasure that is slowly killing porn consumers. Are we willing to give up porn to see fewer rapes, less prostitution, fewer girls abducted and sold into sex slavery, and men and women that understand the difference between sex and intimacy? If these goals could be achieved through censoring porn, making it illegal, are we ready to support such a movement?

Walsh goes on to answer some of the typical objections to making porn illegal. Objections such as:

Porn is protected by the First Amendment.
Laws against porn are unenforceable.
Making porn illegal is a slippery slope.

These objections live on sinking sand. But more than that, none of them is a reason not to move forward with laws designed to reduce porn consumption, protect innocent people, and foster a sense of morality that should be supported by anyone.

The first lawmaker that stands up and announces a bill to enforce existing obscenity laws and restrict porn will earn my support. There’s hills to die on ad hills you walk away from, ready to fight another day. This is a hill to die on.

Note: For more resources on the damaging effects of pornography, check out this resource page.