Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Republican lawmaker wants to charge porn viewers to fund the border wall

Republicans are creating innovative ways to potentially fund president's campaign promise of a sprawling border wall

Chris Riotta
New York
Tuesday 22 January 2019 13:17 EST
Comments
President Trump makes televised plea for border wall funding as he declared there is 'a humanitarian crisis'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Republican lawmaker in Arizona has proposed an unusual — albeit not entirely unprecedented — proposal seeking to fund Donald Trump's border wall demands by charging tech users who wish to watch pornography online.

Gail Griffin, an 84-year-old senator serving in the Arizona House of Representatives, recently unveiled House Bill 2444, a measure that, if passed, would install a block on all software sold in the state capable of accessing the internet.

Consumers would be unable to access sites featuring pornography under the new legislation, unless they were willing to prove their age and pay a fee to the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Users would be required to prove they are 18-years-old or above and forced to pay $20 (£15) in order for the block to be removed.

The money sourced from the new proposal would go towards the newly-created John McCain Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Fund and used for one of any 10 priorities, Arizona Republic reported.

The top issue on that list of priorities reads: “Build a border wall between Mexico and this state or fund security.”

Legislation has been proposed across the country seeking to restrict or limit access to digital pornography, with bills in South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky all seeking similar outcomes.

Still, the Arizona bill is novel in that it seeks to fund the president’s border wall demands rather than simply making it more difficult for porn viewers to access content online.

Ms Griffin did not respond to enquiries.

The proposal has stirred headlines and controversy as the US enters another week of the government shutdown — the longest in American history.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Mr Trump has refused to back down from his demands for $5.7bn to be included in the next federal spending bill for his campaign promise of building a wall along the US-Mexico border.

The president has walked back reports that he would invoke a national security crisis over the US-Mexico border — a move that could provide Mr Trump federal funding to begin building the wall but would likely face lengthy legal challenges.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in