Honestly, it seems like a lot of people have focused on how pornography affects [christian]families. I would much rather see laws intended to protect young women from getting sucked into the porn industry. Maybe raising the age to 21+? Maybe outlawing recordings of specific physical acts (heck, a lot of porn is just plain brutal) that aren't actually sexual in nature from being distributed. It certainly would leave people free to do it if they desired, or even watch it in person. But the means of making loads of money through distribution via the internet and mail ordering would be utterly devastated.
Just my thoughts...
Interesting ideas. Since battery is already illegal, it seems to me that anything that involves beating should likewise be illegal. The gender(s) of the person or people involved, and how much clothing is involved, and whether the acts lead to sex, should not matter. If a person is getting hit to the point of leaving marks (and much S&M does do this ... even with a safe word) then it's illegal.
Enforcing it becomes problematic. Two consenting adults ... I don't see how anyone should, could, or would become involved to press charges. But as far as filming it and then distributing it, I see no reason why that should be legal. Why would someone film themselves robbing a bank or spray-painting? Why would there even be a market for viewing murder? Seems to me that anyone who would want to purchase such sickness should be put in an institution, not so much because they're breaking the law, but because they clearly are not healthy and they need help. Someone who gets sexual pleasure out of watching people hurting each other is not a normal person, and should not be allowed to be on the streets. As much as a freedom-lover as I am, I think this is one place where you really can draw a line. If a person is going to fantasize, there's nothing you can do about that, but to provide actual footage for their fantasies, I mean, why?
I guess one could argue that much of the non-adult film industry would be suspect, too. There's an awful lot of violence in movies, depictions of people getting killed, maimed, etc. I think one big difference is that usually (though not always), the person in the movie who is doing the violence is seen as "the bad guy." With a few exceptions, "good guys" (the ones you're supposed to be rooting for) do not inflict pain or torture on innocent people in the movies. Of course, there are some excellent exceptions to this rule I can think of off the top of my head, movies where "the good guy" does his (or her) share of killing for "the greater good." Terminator II of course even made that trope into a joke. Swing Blade comes to mind, as well. How could such a ban on porn not also ban films that I have seen and enjoyed (and would never take kids to see, but I think as long as the audience is aware of the R-rating, and why it's there, there's no reason it should be banned)?
And as long as we're on the topic.....
Why is it that if I produce a film that depicts a man who kills his wife, it only gets an R rating, or maybe even PG-13, but if I produce a film that depicts a man who makes love to his wife after they're married, it gets an X? What does that say about our society, that we allow teenagers to witness violence, and are more afraid to show sex, even within the constructs of love and marriage? Do you think perhaps sex would not devolve into porn so much if it weren't so taboo?
Again, just thinking out loud here.