68
Opinion of the Court
"(a) Any person who—
"(1) knowingly transports or ships in interstate or foreign commerce by any means including by computer or mails, any visual depiction, if—
"(A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
"(B) such visual depiction is of such conduct; "(2) knowingly receives, or distributes, any visual depiction that has been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or which contains materials which have been mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means including by computer, or knowingly reproduces any visual depiction for distribution in interstate or foreign commerce or through the mails, if—
"(A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
"(B) such visual depiction is of such conduct;
. . . . . "shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section."
The critical determination which we must make is whether the term "knowingly" in subsections (1) and (2) modifies the phrase "the use of a minor" in subsections (1)(A) and (2)(A). The most natural grammatical reading, adopted by the Ninth Circuit, suggests that the term "knowingly" modifies only the surrounding verbs: transports, ships, receives, distributes, or reproduces. Under this construction, the word "knowingly" would not modify the elements of the minority of the performers, or the sexually explicit nature of the material, because they are set forth in independent clauses separated by interruptive punctuation. But we do not think this is the end of the matter, both because of anomalies which
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