(AgapePress) - The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a congressional ban on "virtual" child pornography. The court has ruled 6-3 that the First Amendment protects pornography or other sexual images that only appear to depict real children engaged in sex.

Today's ruling is rooted in the technical definition of what is considered "child porn." At issue is technology that allows pornographers to alter or enhance pictures that may depict children engaged in sex, while arguing that the children are not real but merely computer-generated images.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the prohibitions in the 1996 child pornography law were too broad and unconstitutional. He also rejected the Justice Department's argument, finding that virtual child pornography was not directly related to the sexual abuse of children.

Pat Trueman is a pro-family attorney and the former head of the Justice Department's child exploitation unit. Trueman says he is horrified by today's ruling -- and that it is a sad day for America when pornographers will be allowed to continue to produce this harmful material.

"What the court is doing is protecting child pornographers rather than children," Trueman says. "I'm certainly very disappointed in the ruling. We'll see consequences for a long time to come."

The former DOJ official calls the ruling an obvious defeat for pro-family supporters, but says it will also make it harder to prosecute child porn in the future. "From now on, in court cases on child pornography over the Internet, the Justice Department will have to prove that in fact the image is of a child," the attorney explains. "But oftentimes you cannot locate the child to make that proof -- and it will mean there will be fewer prosecutions for child pornography."

Trueman says this points out the critical importance of presidential elections. "What kind of justices are they going to put on the Supreme Court?" he asks. "They make rulings for life -- and this ruling is going to stand for as long as we live."

The court majority was led by liberal Justice Kennedy. He was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, and Clarence Thomas.

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