the criminal elements trafficking in obscenity?

[sky753]

Hello Everyone,

What does the underlined mean in the following paragraph?


...Attorney General Adward Meet today announced a nationwide crackdown on the pornography industry. Meet said he is committed to redouble the Federal efforts to pursue with an vengeance and prosecute to the hilt the criminal elements trafficking in obscenity...


Does pursue with an vengence here mean severely punish?

And why does the author say criminal elements trafficking in obscenity...? In Chine publicly selling or advocating elements related to obscenity is illegal! "the criminal elements trafficking in obscenity" is mentioned here? Isn't there legal elements trafficking in obscenity in the US?

Regards

Sky

[David L.]

The expression 'with a vengeance' is used to emphasize the degree to which something occurs, or is true. He could have written, 'he will pursue relentlessly' - he will pursue, track down these criminals using utmost effort.

The expression 'to the hilt' means 'completely, totally,fully' - they will be charged with every law they have broken, and they will ask the judge for the maximum punishment for these crimes that the court is able to hand out.

'elements', referring to people, refers to a group of people of some particular kind within the general population.
So- 'criminal elements' means the group of criminals that we have within the general population of law-abiding citizens.

'trafficking' is dealing or trading in something illegal; and instead of, say, drugs, these criminals distribute and sell obscene pictures, magazines, books -that is pornography. (Or perhaps, they operate pornographic websites on the Internet)'

Yes - certain kinds of 'explicit adult material' (pornography) is quite legal to sell to adults. However, brutal, sadistic material; material relating to animals; and child pornography etc...No.