Revenge Porn Bills come with some uncertainty!

Legislators are comparing two bills that would make it a crime to take revenge on an ex-lover by posting nude photos on the Internet. This practice is commonly referred to as "revenge porn." With the exception of victims in New Jersey and California, which recently criminalized "revenge porn", victims have no legal recourse. With these bills, there will be harsh penalties including fines and prison time. I have three issues with these bills, one issue is there is no recourse for recovering these damaging photos. No one can force the hand of the websites where the posts were made to erase the photos. So victims have no guarantee that their embarrassing and private photos will not resurface. Another issue I have is that victims have to take some responsibility for their actions and taking part in racy photos is risky behavior with consequences. In this day of social media, it is dangerous to take part in nude photography with someone just because you have no idea what the future holds. I believe it is your right to take nude photos with your loved one but if you do so you are opening a door that can lead to severe consequences. This is abusive behavior that should be reported but victims must also take some responsibility and refrain from future similar activity. It should be noted that victims that are aware of the photos being taken have given some consent, and should take some minimal responsibility. With that said, I am not victim blaming, I am being realistic, direct and honest. Finally, some people associated with the ACLU find these bills somewhat unconstitutional.

I firmly believe that lawmakers are on the right track and it should be a crime for ex-lovers to traumatize and dehumanize someone knowingly and maliciously by posting nude photos; I'm just not sure they got it right yet. There are many other variables that need to be considered. I am all for laws that help victims of crime recover and hold offenders accountable. For more information refer to to the following articles:
http://www.wbal.com/article/105065/3/revenge-porn-bill-to-get-hearing
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-lawmakers-weigh-revenge-porn-bills-20140128,0,4483528.story
Please feel free to offer commentary or ask questions.

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