"I find it offensive, having served with the young men and women in Iraq," Morgenthaler said. "Every day we trust them to make decisions. This bill says we don't trust them to choose their own magazines or movies."
In April, Morgenthaler's opponent, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Bloomingdale), added his name as a co-sponsor to the "Military Honor and Decency Act," which would forbid the sale of racy magazines and movies on Army bases around the world. According to his official biography, Roskam has no military experience, having gone straight from law school to the staff of Texas Congressman Tom DeLay.
U.S. law already prohibits the sale of hardcore adult material on U.S. bases, but in countries such as Iraq or Saudi Arabia, non-hardcore magazines like Cosmopolitan are banned, so as not to offend host countries, Morgenthaler said.
The "Military Honor and Decency Act," is very specific in defining what it considers nudity: "human genitals, pubic area, anus, anal cleft, or any part of the female breast below a horizontal line across the top of the areola with less than an opaque covering but does not include the exposure of the cleavage of the female breast exhibited by a dress, blouse, bathing suit, or other apparel."
Morgenthaler said that the law would seem to prohibit Playboy or any movies with nudity.
Roskam's legislative and campaign offices did not return calls from reporters seeking comment.
