State Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover plans on introducing a new bill to restrict minors from accessing online pornography.
The Alabama Legislature’s 2024 session begins in three months and DuBose also intends on reintroducing the What Is a Woman Act, which would codify into law the definitions of men and women. The bill failed in the 2023 session.
Porn ID
DuBose told Alabama Daily News she intends on introducing next year what she called a “porn ID law,” which would require websites hosting pornographic material to verify the age of visitors before granting access.
“I’ve had parents and grandparents that come to me very concerned about their 10 to 12-year-old boys because they’re so engaged in their computers,” DuBose said. “We know statistically that (a majority) of 10 to 12 year olds have already seen porn on the internet; that’s how prevailing it is. It’s damaging and addictive to young minds.”
DuBose said that the bill would be similar to a bill approved this year by Louisiana lawmakers, which would fine pornographic websites up to $5,000 a day for not verifying the age of its users through a process that requires the submission of a photo ID. Similar laws have been passed in other states such as Arkansas and Mississippi, leading to some adult pornography websites pulling out of said states all together.
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, also told Alabama Daily News he’s working on legislation similar to Louisiana’s.
“Just like young people are prohibited from purchasing pornographic magazines in retail stores, they also shouldn’t be able to access it online,” Orr said. “And currently, we have no prohibitions in effect to prohibit such activity.”
DuBose went on to say that the unrestricted access to the internet and social media platforms such as TikTok were in part responsible for the increased number of adolescents identifying as transgender.
“Honestly, that’s one reason we see so many females thinking that they are transgender,” she said.
Cassandra Williams – an LGBTQ advocate and executive director of Transgender & Diverse Veterans of America – said conflating the two was a tool often propagated by the Heritage Foundation, who in its writings have alleged that “children (today) suffer the toxic normalization of transgenderism.” Williams did say, however that she thinks of DuBose as a “reasonable person,” citing her willingness to speak openly with her opponents.
What Is a Woman Act
DuBose also told ADN that she had been working on the newest iteration of what she also called a “women’s bill of rights” with Riley Gaines, a professional swimmer who has since become a strong proponent of excluding trans women from women’s sports with the organization Independent Women’s Forum.
“This bill has really gained momentum; it has passed in other states and we have been able to work on the definitions and really refine them so that it’s clear,” DuBose said. “So I was actually happy it did not pass last (session), it gave me an opportunity to listen to people on both sides, learn, and make this a better bill for this year.”
The bill saw considerable opposition when first introduced in May, primarily from members of the LGBTQ community, who labeled the bill as discriminatory against transgender people. One staunch critic of the bill was Williamson, a transgender woman, who described the bill as an attempt “to deny us our humanity.”
While DuBose said that while she consulted heavily with opponents of allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports in refining the bill, she also spoke at length with those opposed to her bill, including Williams.
“It’s helpful for me, and how can you not listen to both sides and have compassion for both sides?” she said. “I do have compassion for both sides, so I think that we have to be careful and be very respectful.”