A New Political Truth: Exposure to Sexually Violent Materials Causes Sexual Violence

Abstract:     
The Meese Commission gave this nation a new political truth that in years to come will undoubtedly play an important role in federal or state efforts to restrict or suppress speech having pornographic content. Legislators, policymakers and the general public will quote and rely upon the Commission's key finding that exposure to sexually violent materials "bears a causal relationship" to acts of sexual violence, unaware that the principal drafter of the Report played down this confidence in a separately published academic essay.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 25

Keywords: Pornography, Sexual violence, Meese Commission, Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, Schauer, First Amendment, Freedom of speech, Suppression of speech

JEL Classification: K10, K19, K30, K40

Accepted Paper Series