Parents are the first line of defense in protecting their children from harmful and indecent programming but this duty is difficult or impossible when it comes to in-flight programming on airplanes.  In response to the filth that has recently been shown on airplanes, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) introduced a bipartisan bill, H.R 3676, called the Family Friendly Flights Act of 2007.  This legislation requires airlines to create a family friendly seating section on airplanes to ensure that children will not be able to watch objectionable material on publicly viewable screens.

Shooter, Fracture, and The Last King of Scotland all earned “R” ratings for violence from the Motion Picture Association of America when they were released in theaters.  Due to that rating, children under the age of 17 would not have been able to see these films in movie theaters without parental supervision.  However, each of these films has been shown on public screens aboard airplanes to captive audiences that included young children. Airlines claim that they are showing only “edited” versions of these movies, but the “editing” has been inconsistent at best.

 The Family Friendly Flights Act addresses this deficiency by requiring airlines to create a family friendly seating section on airplanes from which these publicly viewable screens would not be visible.  Airlines would be obliged to provide seating in this “Family Friendly” section for children under 13 and at least one adult traveling with the child.  Additionally, the airline and its employees would be required to offer the opportunity to request seating in the “Family Friendly” section to adults traveling with children.

Action:  Please call your Representative and ask him to cosponsor the Family Friendly Flights Act of 2007.