UK gov bans violent porn

If the plan becomes law, possessing "extreme and violent pornography" in the UK will be a crime punishable by up to three years in jail:

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said the government planned to make it an offence to own images featuring scenes of extreme sexual violence, following a year-long consultation on the issue. The action is a victory for the family of Jane Longhurst, a 31-year-old Brighton teacher murdered in 2003 by a man obsessed with viewing necrophilia Web sites, who have campaigned to block access to such material in the UK.

"My daughter Sue and myself are very pleased that after 30 months of intensive campaigning we have persuaded the government to take action against these horrific Internet sites, which can have such a corrupting influence and glorify extreme sexual violence," Longhurst's mother Liz told the BBC.

Link. The adult industry trade news site Xbiz.com reported:

[A] spokesman for a BDSM group called criminalization of possession troubling. “The theory that people should be punished for viewing an image that simply involves the idea of sexuality with violence shows the proposal being made is to introduce a form of thought crime,” the spokesman said.

Director of the Libertarian Alliance Shaun Gabb said that extending the ban on possession of such content gives the police “inquisitorial powers to come in your house and see what you’ve got.”

The change in the law applies to England and Wales. Plans are underway to extend the law to Northern Ireland. The Scottish Executive is expected to announce its plans separately.

Link to full text of article.

Image above -- shibari (worksafe definition) photos by Phillippe Boxis: NSFW link.

Reader comment: Tom says,

In a typical example of post hoc, ergo propter hoc, the British government has announced plans to ban violent pornography because one man who enjoyed it killed his girlfriend [a woman]. Last time I checked, killing people was still illegal, so why do we need a new rule outlawing fantasies?

Erith says,

What's actually been announced is the end result of a consultation process. Parliament is not in session, and there is as yet no Bill, never mind an Act passed into Law with Royal Assent. It will require seperate legislation in Scotland.

The report itself states that a bill will be brought before Parliament "when the legislative calendar allows", giving those who oppose it plenty of time to continue the campaign against this legislation.