Senate Panel Approves Wording to Toughen Obscenity Definition
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a proposed new definition of obscenity--making a tiny, but significant, word change that proponents say would encourage more prosecutions against peddlers of lewd books, movies and other materials.
By a 5-0 vote, the committee sent the bill by Sen. Wadie Deddeh (D-Chula Vista) to the full Senate.
The state Penal Code now defines obscene materials as those “utterly without redeeming social importance.” The Deddeh bill would change the definition to read “without significant redeeming social importance.”
The word “utterly” in the present law has made obscenity prosecutions virtually impossible to sustain in California, according to supporters of the Deddeh measure. They expect the measure would face a series of court challenges but express confidence that it would be upheld.
Representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Library Assn. and broadcasters’ groups spoke in opposition to the bill.
Marjorie Swartz of the American Civil Liberties Union said the Deddeh measure provided “too much room for too much subjective decision-making.”
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