Editorials
Friday, June 27, 1997CONGRESSIONAL enthusiasm, shared by President Clinton, for removing smut from the Internet turned into a blatant infringement of First Amendment rights of free speech, and there was never much doubt that the Supreme Court would strike it down. Further attempts to cleanse the 'Net can be expected, but enforcement of existing laws, improved software and parental supervision may be the best methods of shielding children from offensive material on computer monitors. Congress went too far
on Internet pornThe Communications Decency Act of 1996 prohibits transmitting or displaying obscenity, and no one quarrels with that ban. It is clearly constitutional and present in other laws affecting movies and printed material. The new law went too far, however, in making it a crime to send or display "indecent" or "patently offensive" communications. Sexually explicit words and pictures that are indecent but not obscene have always been protected by the Constitution, but proponents of the law maintained that it is too easy for children to gain access to such material on the Internet.
The vague terms of the ban prescribed in the law had Internet users -- even "decent" ones -- reeling. They included such groups as the Critical Path AIDS Project, which tries to convey useful information about sex, and Human Rights Watch, which reports about international issues such as torture and rape.
Sen. James Exon, D-Neb., argued that the "most perverse pornography" is "only a few click-click-clicks away from any child." Exon neglected to say that the chances of a child coming across such material accidentally are slim, or that the new law would eliminate it. Forty percent of the material on the Internet originates abroad, beyond the reach of Congress.
Congress may consider imposing standards on Internet providers, such as America Online, for the content of Web sites, but even that would be difficult. Attempts to control communications in "chat rooms" and e-mail would be virtually impossible. The interactive nature of the Internet is among its most valuable features. Laws attempting to suppress that communication because of possible access by children would result in reducing the Internet to what is fit for children. That is unacceptable.
In another important decision, the Supreme Court upheld laws in New York and Washington state criminalizing physician-assisted suicides. The court ruled that states are allowed to make it a crime for doctors to give life-ending drugs to mentally competent, terminally ill patients who want to die. That doesn't necessarily mean that states cannot allow doctor-assisted suicides; the court has yet to rule on such a law enacted in Oregon. A blue-ribbon panel appointed by Governor Cayetano last September to make recommendations on changing Hawaii's present law, which is confusing and probably unenforceable, should not be deterred by the court's decision.
BEN Cayetano is doing what he is paid to do by lobbying the Pentagon to base an aircraft carrier at Pearl Harbor. Because carriers need an airfield nearby to service their planes, the governor is proposing that the Navy continue to use Barbers Point Naval Air Station, which is slated for closure in 1999. Cayetano suggests joint military-civilian use of the airport after the facility is turned over to the state. However, he might not object if the Pentagon canceled plans to close the base. Bid for aircraft carrier
AT the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Bush administration opposed as premature a move to limit carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the turn of the century to deal with global warming. In the end, the conference approved a document committing industrialized countries only to adopt policies to reduce releases of so-called greenhouse gases without specific targets. Because little has been accomplished since then, calls for adoption of specific goals have been renewed. Greenhouse gases
There is still considerable uncertainty as to the effect of mankind's activities on global warming. To take drastic action -- such as a big increase in the gasoline tax -- that could harm the economy without the likelihood of commensurate environmental benefits would be unwise. The greenhouse problem must be approached in the context of economic realities.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
