Lawmakers in Virginia, South Dakota vote to declare porn as 'public health crisis'

Lawmakers in Virginia and South Dakota have recently passed resolutions that would recognize pornography as a "public health crisis."

The Virginia State House voted 82–2 in favor of a resolution expressing concerns about the devastating effects of porn on users and society at large, Life Site News reported.

The Virginia measure asserted that porn is responsible for diminishing the desire in young men to get married as well as the infidelity and dissatisfaction in marriage. It calls for more "education, prevention, research, and policy change" in order to address the issue.

In South Dakota, the State House voted 65–0 while the State Senate voted 35–0 to declare porn as a public health crisis.

Republican Sen. Jenna Netherton, who sponsored the South Dakota resolution, said that porn "harms men, women and children" and has gained a broader influence because of the increased use of technology among younger generations. The resolution claimed that porn leads to risky sexual activity, eating disorders and low self-esteem.

The anti-porn group known as Fight the New Drug commended the passage of the resolutions.

"The momentum is building, there's no doubt about that. We applaud ... efforts to educate the world on the dangers of pornography and ... raising awareness on the harms that come from ... exposure to porn," said a spokesperson for the group.

The National Center for Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said that the resolutions will lead to a greater awareness and national dialogue about the issue of pornography. The organization also predicted that the resolution will "lay groundwork for future legislative efforts to protect children in publicly funded schools and libraries from being unintentionally exposed to pornography."

The two states followed in the steps of Utah, which was the first state to officially recognize that pornography is creating a public health crisis. Last year, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a non-binding resolution stating that porn can have an impact on brain development, increase risky sexual behavior and lead to sexual addiction.

He said that the resolution is "sounding a voice of warning ... (because) there are real health risks that are involved with viewing pornography."

Utah State Sen. Todd Weiler, who introduced the resolution, asserted that the porn industry is aware that its products harm its users, spouses and children, but it puts greed before the well-being of people and society. He said that pornography is "like the 1950s of nicotine and tobacco today."