Free Speech Coalition



Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Press Releases

Free Speech To Be Featured In Upcoming Univision TV Segment

November 15, 2006 - News flash: Hispanics watch adult videos too! Who knew?

Fortunately, Univision, the internationally-renown Spanish-language network, does. The company recently flew one of its reporters halfway across the U.S. to interview FSC's membership development director Scott Lowther (who is fluent in Spanish) for its "60 Minutes" style on-air news magazine, "Aqui y Ahora" ("Here & Now"). The show airs each Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Check local listings for availability.

"Aqui y Ahora" will be doing a report on the entire adult industry, focusing on video and magazines, and featuring performers, directors, free speech activists and supporters who are also Latinas/Latinos. According to the company, the piece will be "balanced," with both pro- and anti-adult viewpoints being presented, though in what proportion the differing opinions will air won't be known until the segment is completed.

Lowther reports that he managed to make several vital points in support of adult free speech during the interview:

That the constitutional right of freedom of speech and the right to purchase, view and use adult materials should be protected;
That obscenity laws are unconstitutionally vague, and have led to adult industry members (and even members of the general public) being arrested for violations which they cannot know in advance they have committed;
That Free Speech Coalition was formed about 14 years ago to promote freedom of speech, particularly as it relates to adult entertainment in the U.S., and that the organization now represents 3,500 companies and individuals; and
That in America, those with conservative political or religious beliefs don't get to tell the rest of us how we must live, what we can buy, or what we can do (or use) in the privacy of our own bedrooms.

Lowther also called attention to the fact that conservatives in Congress and the administration have made the adult industry a focus of Justice Department scrutiny at a time when there are clearly more important issues with which the government should be concerned. He noted that Free Speech opposes exposing the material to unwilling adults, and was careful to point out that children should never be used in adult materials and that FSC offers a reward to combat child pornography.

Free Speech Coalition is a not-for-profit trade association serving the adult entertainment industry. Its mission is to safeguard the industry from oppressive governmental regulation and to promote good business practices within the industry.