Censorship

Press, 22 June 1981, Page 18

Censorship

Sir.—Mr R. Gauer, an American self-appointed censor, indulged in an emotive orgy of incorrect definition and misuse of “pornography” ("The Press,” June 17) reminiscent of others some years ago who claimed that depicted or described violence is "pornography”. As a lawyer, Mr Gauer should know that the term “pornography” has no standing either in United States or New Zealand law. The 1967 United States Commission on Obscenity and Pornography avoided its use because of its null legal significance and because "it most often .denotes subjective disapproval . . “Pornography” (“pome,” a harlot; “-graphia,” writing, drawing, etc.) means the description of the manners, etc., of prostitutes. The Commission’s report stated: “Public opinion in America does not support the imposition of legal prohibitions upon the right of adults to read or see explicit sexual materials.” Mr Gauer’s professed belief in the United States First Amendment and “any law” that would circumscribe or nullify it is utterly cynical. — Yours, etc., PAUL MALING. . June 18, 1981.