House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials
Encyclopedia
The House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials, commonly known as the Gathings Committee, was a select committee of the United States House of Representatives
active in 1952 and 1953. Representative Ezekiel C. Gathings
, Democrat
from Arkansas
, was its chairman, appointed by Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn
. H. Ralph Burton was the committee's general counsel.
Representative Gathings was troubled by the contents of the pulp literature, paperback books, and comic book
s he saw on local newsstands, worried that they would stimulate young people to commit rape
. He therefore launched a Congressional investigation into the paperback book industry, becoming so zealous that he earned the mockery of some journalists.
The Committee began its investigation in 1952 and issued its report in 1953. The report alleged that 100 million obscene
comic books were sold in the United States each month, that one in ten American men read girlie magazines, and that these were problems calling for censorship on the Federal level. The chief result of the report was to turn Gathings into a laughing stock.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
active in 1952 and 1953. Representative Ezekiel C. Gathings
Ezekiel C. Gathings
Ezekiel Candler Gathings was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.Born in Prairie, Mississippi, Gathings attended the public schools and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1929...
, Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, was its chairman, appointed by Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
. H. Ralph Burton was the committee's general counsel.
Representative Gathings was troubled by the contents of the pulp literature, paperback books, and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s he saw on local newsstands, worried that they would stimulate young people to commit rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. He therefore launched a Congressional investigation into the paperback book industry, becoming so zealous that he earned the mockery of some journalists.
The Committee began its investigation in 1952 and issued its report in 1953. The report alleged that 100 million obscene
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
comic books were sold in the United States each month, that one in ten American men read girlie magazines, and that these were problems calling for censorship on the Federal level. The chief result of the report was to turn Gathings into a laughing stock.