Arizona State Representative Proposing $20 Internet Porn Tax to Fund Border Wall

Arizona state Rep. Gail Griffin (R-Hereford) has presented a bill to the state legislature that could end the stalemate between Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump over $5.7 billion for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to KOLD TV, House Bill 2444 would impose a porn tax on residents of Arizona and require payment of at least $20 in order to view pornography on the internet.

The bill calls for software that blocks "websites that display obscene material on the internet" to be installed on all electronic devices sold in Arizona. In order to remove the block, individuals would be required to prove they are at least 18 years old and to pay the $20 fee.

Any private citizen or distributor who sidesteps the block would be committing a class 1 misdemeanor, the bill says.

The money obtained from the tax would be placed into a fund — dubbed the John McCain Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Fund — and the money would be utilized for one of 10 possible projects.

At the top of the list is building a wall along Arizona's shared border with Mexico or to fund border security.

Other possibilities for the money include providing physical and mental health services, assisting school districts, assisting law enforcement, compensating crime victims, providing temporary and permanent housing placements, protecting victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, prostitution, divorce, child abuse and sexual assault, and paying for family counseling and rehabilitation.

According to the Arizona Mirror, the bill appears to be connected to anti-gay activist Chris Sevier. In 2018, Sevier and a state lawmaker proposed similar legislation in Rhode Island, dubbed the "Elizabeth Smart Law." Smart, who was kidnapped from her home in Utah as a teenager, issued a cease-and-desist letter to request that her name not be used in connection to the bill.

At the time, Sevier told the Associated Press that the "Elizabeth Smart Law" was just a nickname for the bill.

"Obviously, we're not trying to hurt Elizabeth Smart, for god's sake. We don't really care what it's called. We just want it to pass. And we're going to see to it that it passes, and the law is on our side," Sevier said.

However, the bill did not pass. It has also failed to pass in at least 18 other states where similar legislation has been proposed.

In recent years, Sevier has presented numerous lawsuits meant to undermine same-sex marriage, including a suit in Utah where he argued that he should be allowed to marry his laptop. A Utah judge threw the suit out in 2017.

Sevier also attempted to sue Apple in 2013, blaming his MacBook for his addiction to porn.

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