Rick Santorum is declaring a war… on porn.
The Republican presidential candidate and staunch social conservative wants to ban hard-core pornography. He calls it "toxic to marriages and relationships" in a new statement posted on his official website.
"America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography," the former Pennsylvania senator writes. "It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking."
He demands a crackdown on the distribution of hardcore pornography on the Internet, in addition to material on cable/satellite TV, hotel/motel TV, retail shops and through the mail.
What qualifies as "hardcore" remains unclear.
Santorum points to a "wealth of research" showing pornography causes "profound brain changes in both children and adults," and rips President Obama for not doing enough.
"The Obama administration has turned a blind eye to those who wish to preserve our culture from the scourge of pornography and has refused to enforce obscenity laws," he writes. "While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum administration.
The White House hopeful isn't the first to sign off on such measures this election cycle.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the race in January, previously signed a pledge pushed by influential Christian conservative group, the Family Leader, that among other measures, calls for banning all pornography.
In July, Mitt Romney — Santorum's rival and GOP frontrunner — refused to sign the pledge. It also stated homosexuality is a choice and health risk, banned gay marriage, and called for appointing faithful constitutionalists as judges.
Romney's spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, said at the time that the oath "contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign."
On Tuesday, Santorum won primaries in the socially conservative states of Alabama and Mississippi. Romney and Santorum are both stumping in Puerto Rico ahead of the U.S. territory's contest on Sunday.
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