Well, we got through the worst of COVID (knock on wood), and survived but the question is will we survive the assault of religion on our industry?

Is the long arm of the pious really that long?

Yes.

We found out last month just how long it really was with the perhaps not so shocking reversal of of Roe v Wade, though the advance preview of the “draft” decision paled in comparison to the reality of its implications ending our hard-earned right to privacy. Whether or not you’re a supporter of the decision, one must realize that its demise has far-reaching negative consequences for the adult industry (and in fact all industries). The adult film industry is particularly impacted because it could lead to the criminalization of the industry itself. The Free Speech Coalition wrote a terrific article discussing this very problem:

“No matter how you feel about abortion, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade is a threat to our industry’s continued existence. The right to sexual privacy and bodily autonomy rests on the very same foundations as the right to terminate a pregnancy and the constitutional protections that we’ve come to take for granted are very much in the crosshairs.”

Make no mistake, if you think the very conservative court doesn’t have Stanley vs. Georgia on their radar – think again. This case gave people a right to watch pornography in the privacy of their own home, and it’s based on privacy rights embodied in the 1^st, 3^rd– 5^th, 9^th and 14^th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, a right that has now been eviscerated—unraveling 50 years of privacy rights in all aspects of our lives. If you believe they won’t go after it, just remember their audacity of overturning a woman’s right to choose – what we never thought would happen, happened. All people have fewer rights under this decision.

Further the judges show no signs of slowing down – how about their ruling in Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District? Just days after the assault on privacy rights, they gave a high school coach the greenlight to lead prayer in a public-school—an unconstitutional establishment of religion, previously prohibited by precedent. This really hits home the fact that the Supreme Court now has zero respect for separation of church and state.

Are you afraid? I am. And we should all be afraid, very afraid.

But now that we’re afraid, what do we do?

We can vote. We can join the Free Speech Coalition. We can march, post on social media, and raise our voices to say that this country is NOT a Christian Nation (nowhere in our constitution is this myth written). We can remind our countrymen and women that to be truly free we must not only have religious freedom but freedom from religion.

Which brings me to an organization that’s worthwhile to support in this fight.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) was started in 1978 in Wisconsin, a state that has a long history of blue laws and trying to insert religion into people’s lives. The main purpose of The FFRF is to maintain a separation of church and state. They are not talkers, they are doers and have had legal successes from halting public school subsidies of child evangelism, suing the IRS to reinvestigate church politicking, stopping city/school board prayer and more.

Supporting the FFRF is one solid way to support the adult industry and that can make one feel a little bit more empowered which is important. Because in dark times like this it’s easy to become paralyzed. We must remember that there’s a lot we can do to oppose what’s going on.

There are those who don’t care what the majority wants, they feel compelled to force everyone’s allegiance to their beliefs. They go against the very grain of our constitution and it’s up to us to fight! Pornography is successful because people want to view it. But, unless we make our voices heard, we face laws to prohibit its distribution, so fight!

 “To be free from religion is an advantage for individuals; it is a necessity for government.” Anne Gaylor, Co-Founder Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Photo credit: iStock/shuangpaulwang