Defend Our Porn vs Free Speech Coalition

Posted at 1:01 PM May 21, 2008

The adult industry serves as one big test case for that whole "obscenity" thing. There are plenty of people in the industry who have become champions of the First Amendment - Larry Flynt is essentially a household name these days, especially since he got a major hollywood movie about his story. And every year at the Adult Video News awards, someone gives a grandiose speech about free speech, and how everyone in the biz is fighting this important fight. While certainly there are people in porn who are passionate about free speech, the vast majority of people in the industry couldn't give a shit about it unless it jeopardizes their bottom line.

The Free Speech Coalition was founded in 1991 to stand up for the free speech rights of people in the adult industry. But the organization's relationship to the population it serves is a rocky one: they seem to do lots of fundraising drives and make plenty of promises, but many industry players are less than pleased with their delivery. People involved closely with the organization have also complained about it's lack of efficiency - and in fact, it's inability to do anything useful. Longtime porn maker and talker of shit Mike South has a category on his blog dedicated to the Free Speech Coalition - it goes back several years and the posts detail many a grievance with the organization.

When John "Buttman" Stagliano was brought up on obscenity charges a month ago, he didn't turn to the FSC. He created his own organization, Defend Our Porn, because the FSC didn't step up - and from the looks of it, he probably didn't want them to anyway.

Here's what Stagliano has to say, from his editorial in Buttman Magazine, which he reposted on Defend Our Porn:

I have been called by our country to defend the rights of those who dare to love their lives here on earth, and I so love my life, and my freedom. They are trying to take that precious freedom away from me, and from you.

It is fitting that this issue is the one where I renew my own artistic impressions of ass. I have the stills here from the three scenes of my new release Buttman‘s Beautiful Brazilian Ass. I have been away for awhile from making Buttman movies. The pictures in this magazine have been from my other directors at the Evil Empire. But I recently went to Brazil, to make a Buttman movie for the first time in 3 years, just before I was indicted by the feds. So as a tribute to all those who would take our ass art away I’m glad I can present what I think is my best work, my new stuff, on a journey back to what I love.

In this new chapter in the story of American porn, the battle isn't "just" The United States vs. John Stagliano, but also Defend Our Porn vs Free Speech Coalition. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top.

--Audacia Ray

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