LOS ANGELES – "The Directors Guild of America lauds today's Supreme Court ruling which overturned the misguided Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996. The Supreme Court correctly analyzed the impact of this law restricting the creative rights of filmmakers and other artists, and supported the position of the DGA that this legislation encroached upon First Amendment rights to free speech. We can all thank the Supreme Court for once again defending the First Amendment freedoms central to our free society, and preserving the creative freedoms that all Americans treasure.
"Our children must be protected from sexual exploitation, but the Supreme Court wisely recognized that this law criminalized artistic expression, rather than protecting children from any real attack. From Romeo and Juliet to American Beauty and Traffic, artists have told stories that included allusions of adolescent sexuality, stories which have enriched our lives. Every American would suffer the loss of freedom if this overzealous governmental intrusion into our rights of expression had been allowed to stand."
Martha Coolidge
President, Directors Guild of America
