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Success Stories
Thanks
to the persistance of our dedicated members we are pleased
to report our motivating succes stories.
CFD
helps pass legislation
A
special thank you to all members of Communities for
Decency who recently participated in the action item
in support of HB 260 before the Utah legislature. HB
260 passed unanimously.
Understanding
HB260
HB
260 was designed to force pornographers everywhere to
act more responsibly by rating their sites according
to content. Those sites who refuse to rate and are found
in violation of the “Harmful to Minors” law, will be
placed on a state black list.
ISP's
who serve Utah customers must provide their customers
with a commercial filtering option. Utahns who request
this service will be protected by the filter and by
the state black list.
Additionally
HB 260 provides funds for a public awareness campaign
on how to protect ourselves from the dangers of the
Internet.
The
sponsors of the bill envision multiple states passing
similar legislature thus drawing the attention of the
federal government much as the “do not call list” did
recently.
Thanks
to the dedication of Utah citizens, the attorney general,
and legislators, Utah leads the way in protecting children
and families from illicit materials on the Internet.
Utah
Legislature Passes Utah Children's Internet Protection
Act
Access
to the Internet in public libraries offers a wonderful
array of information at the fingertips of patrons. However,
this technology has not come without a price. Among
the problems unfiltered Internet access has caused is
the exposure of children to materials ranging from inappropriate
to hard-core pornography.
In
2001, our state officers began the work of contacting
libraries regarding their Internet protection policies.
Across the state, all libraries were in compliance with
Utah law which required them to have a Internet policy,
but most Utah libraries could not adequately show how
this policy was being enforced. After much research,
state officers concluded that pornography was a serious
threat in most Utah libraries.
Safeguarding
children from Internet pornography at the library is
a complicated issue which involves parental guidance
as well as an effective library plan. During the past
three years Women for Decency state officers
and members have educated citizens on protecting children,
attended library board meetings, sent letters, written
letters- to-the editor and held a press conference to
encourage libraries to take responsible action by filtering
computers.
On
June 23, 2003, the Children's Internet Protection Act
(CIPA) was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
This law requires libraries to use antipornography filters
prior to receiving federal funding. Chief Justice William
H. Rehnquist said the law (CIPA) does not turn libraries
into censors. Rehnquist's opinion was joined by Justices
Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen Breyer, in separate
opinions, said that government's interest in protecting
young library users from inappropriate material outweighs
the burden on library users having to ask staff to disconnect
filters. Dan Panetti from the National Coalition For
the Protection of Children and Families said, ãThis
is a great victory for families, but there is still
work to do.ä While this law is helpful in protecting
children, many Utah libraries do not apply for the federal
funding which requires Internet filters.
With
some investigation, state officers discovered the power
of the CIPA law lay in the fact that local communities
and states could pass the same CIPA ordinance or law
in their area requiring their local libraries to filter.
A note was sent out to Utah senators and representatives
requesting such action. Representative Mike Noel responded
to the letter sent by district leader Ashley Kartchner.
Representative
Noel
and Senator Thomas Hatch agreed to sponsor the Utah
CIPA bill.
With
the help of Dan Panetti from National Coalition, a rough
draft of the Utah CIPA bill was sent to the house legal
committee who then wrote this important piece of legislation.
The positive and overwhelming response from citizens
and lawmakers brought this bill to a successful vote
in the senate on March 3, 2004.
Utah
libraries now have the unique opportunity to implement
the filtering technology that works best for their community
by July 1, 2004. The state officers would like to encourage
library patrons to be patient and thankful to librarians
and library boards as they go about the hard work of
complying with our new Utah CIPA law.
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