New Minnesota Law Pushes Idea Porn is Linked to Sex Trafficking (YNOT)
Read the full article by Gene Zorkin at YNOT.com
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – When Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed bill number SF 2554 back in May, he did so without the fanfare that so often accompanies the signing of legislation.
No ribbon was cut, no press conference was called and the press release issued to announce the occasion bore the mundane title “Governor Dayton Signs Six Bills into Law.”
The description of SF 2554 contained in the release was as brief as it was vague: “This bill requires collection of information on the connection between pornography and sex trafficking and authorizes expansion of the penalty assessment. This bill passed unanimously in both legislative bodies.”
Unlike so many other bills which involve pornography, SF 2554 seemed to avoid the radar of the mainstream media – and just about all other media, for that matter. Weeks after it was signed into law, a smattering of articles appeared on religious and socially-conservative news sites such as OSV.com (“Our Sunday Visitor”) under headlines like “New law links pornography, human trafficking.”
The description of SF 2554 is as follows: “A bill for an act relating to public safety; requiring collection of information on the connection between pornography and sex trafficking; expanding the authorized penalty assessment to include additional crimes; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 299A.785, subdivision 1; 609.3241; 609.5315, subdivision 5b.”
In other words, what this law does to “link” pornography to human trafficking simply is to declare such a link exists.
Gene Zorkin has been covering legal and political issues for various adult publications (and under a variety of different pen names) since 2002.