Lawmaker withdraws anti-porn bill, citing 'dubious origins'

PROVIDENCE, R.I. >> A proposal that would have required a filter for online pornography that could be lifted with a $20 fee was withdrawn Tuesday by a Rhode Island lawmaker who cited the “dubious origins” of the measure.

Sen. Frank Ciccone said he pulled the bill after The Associated Press reported Monday that the legislation had been pushed around the country by a man with a history of outlandish lawsuits including trying to marry his computer as a statement against gay marriage.

The measure pushed in statehouses across the country by Chris Sevier has been described as the “Elizabeth Smart Law” after the girl who was kidnapped from her Utah home as a teenager in 2002.

Ciccone said he made the decision after learning from the AP story that Smart had sent a cease-and-desist letter to backers of the bill and “was in no way involved with this legislation.”

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