@bobsal u1553115,
bobsal u1553115 wrote:
Well of course it is dummy. The rape and the picture are not separate. No rape, no picture of the rape. Be honest: do you enjoy rape pictures?
Well of course it's not.
While it is very unlikely that anyone who possesses a picture of a child being raped does so for innocent reasons, it remains a possibility. There is no possibility that someone raping a child is doing so innocently.
Assuming, as is likely the case, that the possession of such a photo is for lascivious reasons it is, without question, horrendously vile, and it is illegal. I don't know with certainty what the case may be in all 50 States, but I doubt very much that there aren't different statutes involved in prosecuting the crime of possession of such a photo and actually raping a child. To the extent that any State has mandatory sentencing regarding these crimes, I also seriously doubt they are the same.
Depending on the purpose of the debate it could easily be a difference without distinction. They are both sick and vile and attempting to draw a significant distinction between the two on a moral basis is, at best, absurd, but of course there is a difference and if it is only from a legal perspective, that is not insignificant.
Your question to Bill is uncalled for and just plain shitty. He expressed an opinion that a 25 year sentence for downloading child pornography is too harsh. As a result you accuse him of defending a pedophile and imply that he is one.