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by Erik Sass
, Staff Writer,
October 18, 2017
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Utah has an office (currently unfilled) for a state “porn czar.” The job it is to keep smut from the eyes of children, or otherwise
infiltrate the lives of upstanding citizens. However, you may be surprised to learn that the definition of pornography advanced by at least one local politician includes Cosmopolitan.
Yes, the popular women’s magazine – famed for its naughty quizzes and moderately salacious sex tips, is a prurient menace to the children of Utah, as well as
right-thinking adults, according to state senator Todd Weiler. He wants to dust off the office of porn czar, presently defunct, in order to tackle the giggly glossy.
This, despite the fact the
magazine has never featured, you know, actual nudity.
Weiler previously proposed mandatory porn-screening software on all smartphones operating in the state. In 2016, he authored a bill
declaring porn a public health crisis. Now, he is urging Utah to fill the office of “Obscenity and Pornography Complaints Ombudsman,” which was allowed to fall into desuetude in 2003 after
making Utah into a national laughingstock.
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According to Weiler, the office of porn czar should be filled to offer guidance to retailers on the fine points of selling magazines that mention
S-E-X, including Cosmo. Per The Salt Lake Tribune, which first reported the news with some incredulity, Weiler “became convinced that the obscenity and pornography complaints office may be
needed because of an ad campaign attacking Cosmopolitan magazine as illegal porn.”
This refers to an ongoing campaign by Hearst heiress Victoria Hearst, founder of Praise Him
Ministries, who has turned on the family business because of the “obscenity” featured in its flagship women’s magazine, which she says should be illegal for sale to anyone under the
age of 21.
Weiler, the chairman of the Utah state senate’s judiciary committee, tells the SLT: “I've received some complaints...that stores are selling Cosmo at
eye level to a child.” Worse yet, “there's no blinder rack on it, even though we have some blinder rack language in the state code.”
Under Utah’s Material Harmful to
Minors law, retailers are prohibited from prominently displaying any item that presents “any description or representation, in whatsoever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or
sadomasochistic abuse when it: "taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors; is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to
what is suitable material for minors; and taken as a whole, does not have serious value for minors.”
The proposal has met opposition from none other than the Utah attorney general, who
is recommending that state legislators jettison the position of porn czar altogether.