ic Resource Center), that the controversy began to surround the censorship of music. The PMRC is a group devoted to censoring such things as music, books, television and video games. The group was formed in 1985 by a group of Washington politician’s wives, which included Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, and Susan Baker, wife of then Secretary of State James Baker. The PMRC was the group that brought the music industry to its knees and got the Parental Advisory stickers on albums in 1990 (Woods, “PMRC Launches New Offensive Against Rock and Rap“). The parental advisory sticker on albums is simply that. They are little two-centimeter rectangular stickers found on CD cases warning Schiller 3parents that the CD contains explicit lyrics. Some retailers refuse to carry CDs with "Parental Advisory Stickers", some even go as far as to make it known to labels and artists that if the CD comes to their shelves with a "dirty" word, a "controversial" cover, or an "explicit" lyric it will not be allowed on the shelves (Woods, “PMRC Launches New Offensive Against Rock and Rap“). The fight has continued to get more intense as the PMRC now fights to have the sale of stickered albums banned.Through Tipper’s fights in Congress she has shown us one thing that may be the turning point in the whole issue of music censorship. She has proven that the First Amendment states that it is illegal for the government to censor an artist. The First Amendment doesn't apply to censorship by record companies, community groups, or radio stations. In other words, the First Amendment protects a rapper’s ability to criticize the police, but it doesn't require Wal-Mart to carry any one band’s records. Believe it or not, many attempts to censor, ban or suppress popular music in the United States are entirely legal (Nuzum). With this being true censorship becomes less of an issue of legality, and more of an issue...
