THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010438
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Several Republican congressmen want to ban sales of such magazines as Playboy, Playgirl and Penthouse on U.S. military bases, saying they undermine military families and national defense.
They are sponsoring a measure to be taken up Wednesday by the House National Security Committee that would ban the sale or rental on the bases of any sexually explicit material, including audio or video recordings, and periodicals.
``Uncle Sam should not be subsidizing smut, and there's no other way to characterize this material,'' Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said.
Bartlett, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith and California Rep. Bob Dornan wrote colleagues last week that taxpayers are subsidizing the sale of adult magazines because they are discounted along with other goods sold on the bases.
Smith said Tuesday that military people could still buy the magazines at outside newsstands, if they wanted.
The lawmakers released a letter to Smith from Bobbi Obal, the wife of a military member at New Jersey's McGuire Air Force Base.
``As the parent of three children, one 11-year-old boy, I have complained at how carelessly these magazines are laid around but have never seen any change in the handling of them,'' she wrote.
Dan Katz, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Congress cannot show any compelling interest for placing restrictions on First Amendment rights.
Katz said the measure's language could be interpreted to include medical journals, a picture of Michelangelo's ``David,'' romance novels, and classic literature such as ``Catcher in the Rye.''
``The courts have never held that mere sexuality or nudity is equated with obscenity,'' Katz said. ``It's the first I've heard of this and certainly the ACLU would vigorously oppose it.''
The bill's proponents said the language targets only obviously erotic material. They also said the ban would pass constitutional muster because of the regulatory power Congress and the president have over military installations.
Playboy Enterprises counsel Burton Joseph said the measure will never become law and accused its backers of neglecting their oath to defend the Constitution.
KEYWORDS: ADULT MAGAZINES MILITARY EXCHANGE by CNB