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To revise sections 552, 1461, and 1462 of title 18, United States Code, and section 305 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1305), and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill revises federal obscenity and customs law by narrowing the definition of prohibited materials. The bill removes references to "indecent" materials from federal law, eliminating restrictions on materials related to abortion and items deemed "immoral," and simplifies the legal language defining obscene materials to focus on obscenity alone rather than broader categories. The bill amends sections of title 18 of the United States Code and the Tariff Act of 1930 that govern what materials can be shipped through the mail and imported into the country, streamlining the legal prohibitions to address obscene materials specifically.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
28 cosponsors
- Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI)
- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV)
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA)
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY)
- Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH)
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM)
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA)
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME)
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN)
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV)
- Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH)
- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA)
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA)
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT)
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI)
Actions (2)
- Mar 11, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. · senate
- Mar 11, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 11 (legislative day, March 10), 2025
Ms. Smith (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Reed, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To revise sections 552, 1461, and 1462 of title 18, United States Code, and section 305 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1305), and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Comstock Act”.
SEC. 2. OBSCENE MATERIALS.
(a) Title 18.—Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in section 552—
(A) by striking “or indecent”; and
(B) by striking “or means for procuring abortion, or other articles of indecent or immoral use or tendency,”;
(2) in section 1461—
(A) by striking “Every obscene, lewd, lascivious” and all that follows through “Is declared” and inserting “All obscene materials are declared”;
(B) by striking “or section 3001(e) of title 39”; and
(C) by striking “The term ‘indecent”’ and all that follows through “assassination.”; and
(3) in section 1462—
(A) by striking “section 230(e)(2)” each place the term appears and inserting “section 230(f)(2)”;
(B) in the first undesignated paragraph, by striking “commerce—” and all that follows through “things may be obtained or made” and inserting “commerce any obscene material”; and
(C) in the second undesignated paragraph, by striking “matter or thing the carriage or importation of” and inserting “material”.
(b) Tariff Act of 1930.—Section 305(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1305(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking “or immoral” and all that follows through “unlawful abortion”; and
(2) by striking “Provided, That the drugs” and all that follows through “Provided further, That the Secretary” and inserting “Provided, That the Secretary”. <all>
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