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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 12
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN
Introduced: 2/20/24
Referred: Health and Social Services, Judiciary
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the public health crisis created by the accessibility and pervasiveness of
2 pornography; and recognizing the need for education, prevention, research, and
3 changes in public policy to address the harms caused by the accessibility and
4 pervasiveness of pornography in communities in the state.
5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
6 WHEREAS pervasive access to and use of pornography by increasingly younger
7 audiences is creating a public health crisis, the harms of which are beyond the capability of
8 the individual alone to address; and
9 WHEREAS efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction, to educate
10 individuals and families concerning pornography's harms, and to develop recovery programs
11 must be addressed systemically in ways that hold broader influences accountable in order to
12 counter the sexually toxic environment perpetuated by the pervasiveness of pornography; and
13 WHEREAS pornography is contributing to the hyper-sexualization of teens and
14 prepubescent children in communities in the state; and
15 WHEREAS, because of advances in technology and the near universal availability of
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1 the Internet, young children are being exposed at an alarming rate to what was formerly
2 referred to as hardcore pornography but is now considered mainstream pornography; and
3 WHEREAS studies have shown that the average age of first exposure to pornography
4 is between 11 and 12 years old; and
5 WHEREAS early exposure to pornography is leading to low self-esteem, eating
6 disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and an increased desire
7 in young adolescents to engage in risky sexual behaviors; and
8 WHEREAS exposure of children and youth to pornography distorts sexual templates
9 and undermines sex education efforts; and
10 WHEREAS pornography objectivizes its subjects, reducing individuals to
11 commodities for the viewer's use; and
12 WHEREAS the detrimental effects of pornography include emotional, mental, and
13 medical illnesses, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships, alterations to
14 brain structure and function, and problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction;
15 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the public health
16 crisis created by the accessibility and pervasiveness of pornography; and be it
17 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the need for
18 education, prevention, research, and changes in public policy to address the harms caused by
19 the accessibility and pervasiveness of pornography in communities in the state.
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