Cannon introduces bill on pornography

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, introduced the "Pornography Jurisdiction Act" Tuesday, which would limit federal courts — including the Supreme Court — on reversing state court decisions on what constitutes obscene material.

"For too long, federal courts have been creating a dangerous climate for our children by overturning important decisions by state courts to restrict pornography consumption and distribution within their borders," Cannon said in a statement. "My legislation simply lets states decide for themselves how they tackle this problem."

The bill stems from a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the ban of "virtual child pornography" was unconstitutional, according to Cannon's office. He has supported other bills against pornography, such as the Child On-line Protection Act and the Child Internet Protection Act.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has his own bill trying to combat Internet pornography, which requires the use of FTC-certified software to make sure the user is at least 18 year old to access it and would impose a 25 percent tax on online pornography sales. The tax revenue would help fund the Department of Justice Cyber Tipline, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and research grants.