Conservative activists take aim at hotel porn

Former porn addict leading campaign
The leader of the campaign against in-room porn is Phil Burress, a self-described former porn addict who heads the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values.

Burress and his allies have had some success regionally, pressuring about 15 Ohio and Kentucky hotels to stop offering adult movies. But he says a nationwide pressure campaign would be difficult because nearly all the big hotel chains have similar policies — porn is available at some but not all of their affiliates.

Though unable to cite specific cases, Burress contended that the availability of in-room porn is making hotels more dangerous.

“As more and more of these (hardcore) titles become available, we’re going to have sexual abuse cases coming out of the hotels,” he said. “Hotels are just as dangerous as environments around strip joints and porn stores.”

Hoping for a Justice Department probe
Burress said he was “cautiously optimistic” that Justice Department officials — whom he and other anti-porn leaders confer with periodically — would seriously consider investigating hotel-based pornography.

Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said federal authorities are committed to toughening enforcement of obscenity laws, but he declined to comment on specific targets for investigations.

LodgeNet and OnCommand together provide in-room entertainment to more than 1.8 million hotel room in North America — with customers that include Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Marriott and Ramada.

The standard in-room packages offered by LodgeNet and OnCommand include adult movies, but they have tried to accommodate hotels preferring a no-porn alternative, according to Shannon Sedgwick Davis, executive director of an association of hotels which don’t offer adult movies to guests.

One problem, she said, is that the big hotel chains often have negotiated bulk contracts with the video suppliers that include the adult movies and can be expensive to cancel.

MORE FROM LIFE

Life Section Front

Snow storm in central U.S. worsening   Panic, but no deaths, in Jamaica jet crash New York City: Don't drill near our water Judge OKs wild horse roundup in Nevada Fighting breast cancer, Teresa Heinz urges tests Brazilian family agrees to hand over boy Centenarian voter lauded by Obama dies Mom of dead woman blasts EMTs 3 die in dust storm crashes Priest wins $100,000 for church in poker game Life Section Front   Add Life headlines to your news reader: