Headed by the Osmond Network, an organization founded by the famous singing duo Donny and Marie and their siblings, The War on Pornography is organized by Alan and Suzanne Osmond, organizers of the religious family support group, The Family.com.
The growing anti-porn movement in Utah has garnered the support and endorsement of a long list of religious and Mormon-affiliated family advocacy groups in both the U.S. and Canada, including United Mothers, Citizens Voice, and Citizens for Family, which have collectively come together to prevent children from being exposed to porn, and while they're at it, eliminate porn entirely.
The War on Pornography feels that adult entertainment has reached epidemic proportions and that porn is "a well-funded and highly organized industry" that must be stopped.
"Pornography can never be erased from a child's mind," stated a representative for the group at the press conference.
The anti-porn advocacy group has set a goal of recruiting 10 million Americans to take a stand in their communities and demand that state and local government take more action against porn.
On hand at the press conference was Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who was quoted as saying that porn has created "an onslaught unlike any other in the history of the world."
"In only a few mouse clicks, children can be exposed to material that can never be erased from their minds," Alan and Suzanne Osmond said in a statement. "Never before in the history of telecommunications has an entire generation of children been invaded by sexually-explicit material with so few restrictions. It is incumbent on parents, industry, the media and government to work together to provide children the protected space of innocence they deserve. Innocence lost can never be regained. The time to act is now."
According to statistics The War on Pornography has assembled for its cause, nine in 10 children ages eight to 16 have viewed porn online, mostly by accident. The average age of first exposure to Internet porn is 11, and, the group states, pornography is more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes or illicit drugs.
Additionally, nearly half of all children ages 11 to 17 with an Internet connection surf for porn sites, and out of those children, one in five children ages 10 to 17 has received sexual solicitations while on the Internet. And more startling, children (ages 12 to 17) are the single largest group of consumers of Internet pornography.
Among some of the initiatives underway as a result of The War on Pornography, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and his staff are developing an online child-protection registry that is scheduled to be up and running next year. According to the Washington Post, Utahns will be able to register for the service, which will place their email addresses on a list that prohibits companies from sending pornographic material.
"Our understanding of human sexuality has been debased," stated Alan Keyes, a supporter of the group and former presidential candidate.
The War on Pornography also states on its website that more than $10 billion is spent annually on porn and that the industry is larger than the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball combined.
Lastly, the group warns, there are more than 2 million websites devoted to porn, with an estimated 2,500 new sites sprouting up every week.
