TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Several conservative groups, including the American Family Association, are asking Marriott International Inc. to stop giving hotel guests the option of ordering pay-per-view movies with strong sexual content.
AFA, based in Tupelo, said 47 "pro-family leaders" have signed a letter asking chain's chief executive, J.W. Marriott Jr., for a meeting to discuss their concerns.
Marriott was told that stopping "porn movies" would be in keeping with the corporation's position of "promoting the well-being of children and families," AFA said in a news release.
Marriott's Web site says the hotel chain has about 3,000 properties in the U.S. and 67 other countries and territories. AFA said most of these hotels offer in-room movies with pornographic content.
Roger Conner, vice president of communications for Marriott International, said Thursday the company would review the group's letter and the request for a meeting.
Conner said Marriott and most hotel chains offer in-room entertainment that includes a wide range of films and "just one of those is adult offerings."
"Every guest can quickly and easily block out just the adult movie offering by either calling the front desk or using their (TV) remote pad in the room," Conner said. "It does not appear at all if the guest does not want the offering."
It's not the first time the issue of Marriott's movie offerings has been raised.
Former Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney was criticized during his campaign by social conservatives who argued he should have tried to halt hardcore hotel movie offerings during his near-decade on the Marriott board. Conservative activists said the offerings run counter to the family image cultivated by Romney, the Marriott family and their shared Mormon faith.
AFA announced last month that it was ending a two-year boycott of Ford Motor Co., saying the company had met most of its demands, which included ending donations to groups that support same-sex marriage.
Ford said in a statement that its principles haven't changed, but that it has reduced overall advertising and charitable spending in recent years because of losses in North America. Ford lost $2.7 billion in 2007.
Among those participating in the letter to Marriott, according to AFA, are James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Bishop Harry Jackson, chairman of High Impact Leadership Council; and Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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But if the marriot see people protesting and boycotting their chain then they will change, if only to save that bottom revenue.
I'm sure Marriott will weight the pros and cons and do whatever will benefit their bottom line of revenue.
Chris333
I can fully understand your viewpoint if we are talking about immoral services being offered to the open public such as in a retail environment like Walmart (for example).
But these questionable services offered in a hotel chain environment are only available to those who choose to pay for them. This is very different.
I understand that there are some reputable Christian leaders supporting this effort. But we are in a very influencial election period and we must be very careful about the arguments we choose and how we support them.
wrhalver,
I agree fully, we are responsible for ourselves and for our children, and to a large extent, we are responsible for our Christian brothers and sisters. We are not responsible for non-Christians.
This is not to say that we cannot change secular policy, or limit what non-Christians do (especially for the sake of protecting children and innocent people).
Chris333
Have you ever noticed that it is not in God's design to cut off Satan from this physical world?
But instead God gave us the tools to fight Satan.
In the same sense, there is an OFF on every television set.
Personally, I want to be responsible for what I watch and what my children watch. This is a biblical principle that God has given to each of us. I want to be the one to say yes or no.
This is my responsibility.
dongard,
You present valid questions, and they should be considered seriously. I am of the opinion that the Church should be concerned with the Church primarily, and with secular society, only in instances where they threaten the Church or the very dignity of human beings (whether they be Christian or not).
This being said, we need to seriously consider what does put others in jepordy and what does harm others. I think Christianity can give a grounds by which to understand morality in a way that secularism, simply cannot. We both agree that sex videos (and by extension all forms of entertainment) should be restricted in some way, let us reason and find the solution that benefits humanity the most. At the same time, if we Christian want to have a higher standard for ourselves (excluding non-Christians) then we only ask that you do not judge us, and allow us to not be forced into situations where we will have to deal with obscene material, and any other thing which degrades humanity.
A final point, it is wrong for Christians to judge non-Christians, something we forget often. If non-Christians want to act like non-Christians, and it doesn't hurt us (and hopefully others), then why should we care?
chris3333
any product can be misused to harm others and yes sex videos should be subject to regulation. but i see little value in forcing underground. moreover the christian church does not have a very good track record here. the church's idea of smut has been used to repress thousands of authors. how do you draw the line and who gets to control that process. that is the point.
dongard,
The issue is with children, people fighting temptation, and those that use this as an easy way of exploiting others (just recently in the news we saw that a sicko ordered pornography to seduce two young girls, and this happens every day).
We say, stop forcing your corruption upon the rest of society. If the market could have its way, then child pornography would be rampant. What is your point?
ah its spring and once again the prudes are out and about carping and pooping and making fools of themselves. its not enough that they want to be unhappy on the road, everyone must share their misery.
don't want it, don't buy it and let the market work this out. oh i'm sorry the market is only good when it supports your biases.