Do you think it is right or wrong to for a minor to have freedom to either rent or purchase a x rated movie or game?

It’s illegal. I think that says it all.

@scamp – IMHO not everything that is illegal (in whatever country) is wrong. I really wouldn’t mind you eating mince pie on Christmas Day, and if you need to die, it doesn’t really matter if you do it in the Houses of Parliament or elsewhere.

So are you saying it’s ok?

yes its wrong we gotta draw the line somewhere otherswise 6 year olds are gonna be watching porn for show n tell

the law has to aply, yes there are some kids that could handle it not x rated movie but maybe the game. The law is there because people know not all kids are mature enough for that content. I have to admit some people of age are not even mature to watch or play.

@scamp – no I’m not (nor am I saying it’s not). I was just saying that I don’t think “it’s illegal” is a good argument in favour of labelling this as “wrong”.

@Vincentt – Quoting the link you posted: Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to breaking the ban on eating mince pies on Christmas Day, which dates back to the 17th century and was originally designed to outlaw gluttony during the rule of the Puritan Oliver Crowmell

While it may seem stupid in today’s world, that law was instituted for a reason suitable for it’s time. It also is not even close to being in the same category as what we ware discussing here.

Can you imagine sitting around on a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn and watching porn with the kiddies? I think not. Let’s face it. Kids imitate what they see on TV, in the movies and in other media. They are not mature enough to understand what happens in porn. Porn makes people want to have sex. Do we really want more childhood pregnancies? Will kids watching porn be easier victims of pedophiles? Here is what the Attorney General’s commission on pornography said about it:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-pornography_movement#U.S._Government_Commissions_on_pornography

In 1986, the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, often called the Meese Commission, reached the opposite conclusion, advising that pornography was in varying degrees harmful. A workshop headed by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop provided essentially the only original research done by the Meese Commission. Given very little time and money to “develop something of substance” to include in the Meese Commission’s report, it was decided to conduct a closed, weekend workshop of “recognized authorities” in the field. All but one of the invited participants attended. At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed consensus in five areas:

(1) “Children and adolescents who participate in the production of pornography experience adverse, enduring effects,”
(2) “Prolonged use of pornography increases beliefs that less common sexual practices are more common,”
(3) “Pornography that portrays sexual aggression as pleasurable for the victim increases the acceptance of the use of coercion in sexual relations,”
(4) “Acceptance of coercive sexuality appears to be related to sexual aggression,”
(5) “In laboratory studies measuring short-term effects, exposure to violent pornography increases punitive behavior toward women” According to Surgeon General Koop, “Although the evidence may be slim, we nevertheless know enough to conclude that pornography does present a clear and present danger to American public health”[12]

So yes, I think it’s wrong, and I agree that it should be illegal. Also the last time I checked, breaking the law whether you think it is a stupid one or not is wrong.

Quoting you above: and if you need to die, it doesn’t really matter if you do it in the Houses of Parliament or elsewhere. I don’t need to die in parliament or anywhere else just yet, thanks. You say my answer wasn’t a good argument, but I have yet to hear your opinion on this.

I think the problem is in the shame and embarassment that surround sex – if it weren’t treated as such a taboo subject, you wouldn’t worry about your kids watching porn, and at the same time the market for porn would dry right up.

That said, I think the parents get to determine how to raise their kids. So I refuse to answer the question, because I think it’s the parents’ business, not mine.

@scamp – while I agree that those laws will probably have been right when they were crafted, the fact that they exist today does not mean that the thing they are forbidding is wrong by todays standards.

And I really don’t agree that breaking the law, by definition, is wrong. When I’m riding my bicycle on a completely deserted road and I want to turn right, I’m not going to stick out my arm just for the sake of complying with the law. I know the purpose of that law (to prevent accidents from happening by notifying other participants in traffic of my direction), and when that purpose is also accomplished without complying with the law (i.e. there are no other participants, so there’s no reason to stick out my arm, really) then I wouldn’t label breaking that law as wrong.

And of course, with the example of the law regarding death in parliament, I did not mean to imply you should die :)

As for my opinion: I haven’t really formed one as I haven’t studied the subject (as you obviously have). I do have an opinion on whether the law is a definition of what is right and what is wrong.

To get back on topic, the original question was asking us our opinions of children being able to rent or purchase pornography. I will state my opinion a bit more clearly. I do think it’s wrong because it has the potential to be harmful to children in many ways. I think the law is in place to protect children from parents and other adults who either from ignorance or abuse would allow it. I don’t understand why we are still discussing this when you haven’t formed an opinion yet. It seems pretty simple to me. Porn has no business being in the hands of children…period.