Senate Comm. Approves 'Filtering Software' Bill

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced the Internet School Filtering Act (S 1619) on Feb. 9, saying it is designed to protect children from exposure to sexually explicit and other harmful material.

"This legislation comes to grips with a regrettable but unavoidable problem," McCain said. "Today, pornography is widely available on the Internet."

But the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) say the legislation could hurt Gay youth and adults.

"Access to a wide variety of Internet sites is especially important to members of the Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and transgender community because it provides them with vital information, a forum for expression, and a sense of solidarity," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan Garry. "Internet filtering software threatens that access and prevents the community from receiving valuable resources by uniformly blocking many important informational sites."

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the McCain bill by a voice vote on March 12.

Garry said March 24 that requiring a public institution to censor certain Internet sites would violate the First Amendment rights of local citizens.

Kevin Jennings, executive director of GLSEN, a national organization that addresses anti-Gay bias in schools, agreed.

"Part of what it means to be educated is having the ability to learn to think independently," he said. "While parents may choose to limit their children's knowledge of certain subjects or people, it is vital that schools do not play that role."

Heather Hopkins, a GLAAD spokesperson in New York, said similar filtering software bills are pending or have been approved by state legislators in a number of states, including Maryland, New York, and Virginia. Twenty-five libraries nationwide use Internet filtering software, she said.

To counter support on Capitol Hill for the bill, GLAAD has been distributing "Access Denied: The Impact of Internet Filtering Software on the Lesbian and Gay Community" to various members of Congress. The December 1997 report can be viewed at GLAAD's Web site.

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