WALSH: Every Child Exposed To Internet Pornography Is An Abuse Victim. There Should Be Laws Protecting Them.

I’m fascinated by the debate that has been raging these past several days among conservatives around the issue of pornography. I’m happy to accept blame for helping to start this scuffle because I think it has been a clarifying moment for conservatism. As Jane Coaston outlined in her fair and insightful reporting at Vox, the dispute over porn regulation really springs from a more fundamental disagreement about the actual purpose of government.

Guys like Sohrab Ahmari have come down on the pro-regulation side, while the libertarians at Reason have settled, unsurprisingly, on the other. The dividing line even runs through The Daily Wire. My colleagues Michael Knowles and Josh Hammer join Ahmari, myself, and others in the view that government has a legitimate role in battling the porn epidemic, while Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing say that it should not have a substantial role — and any role, if there is one, should not include an outright ban. I think everyone cited above has contributed thoughtfully to the discussion, and I’m not just saying that because two of them happen to sign my paychecks.