I've decided to tag this on here rather than create a new thread since it's apposite to the discussion already under way:
Quote:
Teenagers as young as 16 should be allowed to appear in and look at pornography, the Liberal Democrats have recommended.
The move also commits the party to allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to visit sex shops which would be made easier to set up and run.
Lib Dem culture spokesman Don Foster said 16 and 17-year-olds were "living in a twilight zone between childhood and adulthood", gaining different rights at different ages.
He said: "Why should 16-year-olds be allowed to have sex and babies and under other party policies vote and earn the minimum wage, but not watch or take part in explicit material?"
He accepted that at times the material could be degrading to women, but said that was dealt with by the law and workers' rights and rejected "misleading claims" that images made people violent.
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...020224,00.html
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Well all I can say is hoo-bloody-ray and about damn time too!
The current laws are a nonsense and an embarassment. 16 year olds (and a lot younger kids) can easily access porn anyway and to have a situation where someone can a) have sex and b) pose for nude photos but *cannot* legally *see* the results for two years is utterly ridiculous.
I hope that they will also endeavour to ensure that sex education for children is improved to teach them about the importance of relationships and respect as well as sex and contraception which, I believe, will bring down our shamefully high level of teenage pregancy.
Also the laws on sex shops are aimed at trying to get rid of "sleazy back street shop" or, at least, milk them for huge "licence fees" (anything between £4,000 and £20,000 !!) yet the success of shops like Ann Summers and shows like Erotica (last year's show at London Olympia had over 70,000 visitors!) demonstrate that there is most certainly a demand for adults to be able to see and purchase adult material and toys and preferably in an open and welcoming environment, rather than a shop with blacked out windows.
I'm sure that some right-wing people will already be ranting into their Ovaltine claiming that this will corrupt our morals and cause society to descend into a sink of moral depravity, but IMO they should leave their attitudes back in the 19th century where they belong and join the rest of us in the 21st.