Playboy and Penthouse are here to stay. That's the Pentagon's decision in a battle over dirty magazines being sold on bases.
NewsChannel 3 first told you about the magazines and the military wives who said they were ruining marriages.
Back in May, we profiled a group called Morality in Media, that was fighting on behalf of some military wives to rid base exchanges of sexually explicit material.
Now the Assistant Secretary of Defense is responding, saying magazines like Playboy and Penthouse will continue to be sold.
F.E. Vollrath sent a letter last week to Morality in Media, emphasizing that the DOD resale activities board has reviewed the magazines, and have determined they are not sexually explicit, calling them instead "adult sophisticate material."
Morality in Media still disagrees. The group petitioned both the Pentagon and Congress, saying those dirty magazines were ruining military marriages, and that men were coming back from deployment addicted to porn.
They even said those dirty magazines were contributing to the military's sexual assault problems.
The assistant secretary of defense responded to that allegation.
"We are deeply aware of the current national dialogue surrounding the military and serious issues such as sexual assault. The department is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment on our installations for the entire military community."
The Senate Armed Services Committee even got involved in this issue, and asked the Pentagon to reconsider what they were stocking in exchanges.
It remains to be seen what lawmakers think of the decision to keep Playboy and Penthouse on the shelf.
Related:
Senate directs military to stop selling sexually-explicit magazines at base exchanges
