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You can't stamp out a social behaviour by passing a parilamentary bill. It didn't work with fox-hunting and it ain't gonna work with smoking. I was furious to hear it being boomed out yesterday at my local shopping centre that it was illegal to smoke inside the mall. I'm sure I noticed more people smoking outside than usual. Without getting too political here, it looks as if this government will never learn their lesson.

It won't work with porn either.

I've no objection to laws in public areas on smoking, because non smokers don't want to breathe second hand smoke. It's dangerous and unpleasant, so the laws/rules make sense in that case. Same for banning drinking in the streets and other anti-social activities.

But what you do in your own home is a different matter and has nothing to do with Government/Customs/BBFC or anyone else, as long as consenting adults are involved and nobody is being physically mutilated in the process.

Freedom of Speech includes the right to hold objectionable views and express them, but you could fall foul of a few laws in the UK if you did try and exercise your rights.

Laws don't change attitudes towards sex or even protect the vulnerable, they just drive the practices underground, where no control or regulations exist ... you can't really suppress a biological need, and if people feel a need they'll do it, whether legal or illegal.

The government need to take a more pragmatic view of the whole area of morals/sex/drugs ... there is no use legislating for the utopia you would like to exist, when people will just ignore the laws that are not really enforceable .... this leads in the end to several bad scenarios 1) decent people are criminalised for no good reason 2) resentment against the enforcers/country itself is heightened 3) a general disrespect for all laws. 4) criminals move into the trade In the end the laws to over-protect are more corrosive than if they had never existed.

The government seem to think by giving a little (R18) while banning the rest, it will satisfy people ... the fact is it doesn't, people want what they want and not some tamed down version which is so hard to get hold of legally and at an artificially high price due to restricted competition.

I pretty much agree with everything one eyed jack and nachovx have said here - it's a pipe dream to expect HC anytime soon on British cable channels, also, the way our (out-moded) legal system is structured, means that the powers that be will be our moral guardians - no matter if we choose them to be or not.

Culturally, we are still very new to the legal availability of Hardcore, and therefore it's going to take the politicians one hell of a long to catch up with the rest of us.

One day the Goverment (be it Labour, Tory, Monster Raving Looney etc.) might just realise that it could be a good idea to take a more pragmatic view to the possible benefits of a more widespread availablity of HC product.

Politicians, are by their very nature opportunistic, and therefore brings one question to mind - with all the lobbying that's been going on, has anybody actually bothered to appeal to the one thing almost all of 'em? - their avarice.

I mean if HC material was more easily accessible via outlets other than just Licesensed Sex Shops, was allowed on Cable TV and legal to receive it in the mail, then the Goverment could make a fortune out porn and everyone would be happy.

PG.