Lots of movement in the state legislatures across the nation to reform and update sexting laws, including Louisiana, Indiana, and Connecticut. While Connecticut and Indiana are making positive improvements, the goal of the Louisiana law appears to still emphasize punishment of teens.Connecticut announced the unanimous passage in both houses of “An Act Concerning Sexting”, which reduces the penalty for possession and transmission of nude or semi-nude images by electronic means to a Class A Misdemeanor under CT Law, for those between the ages of 13 and 18. The option is still open for prosecutors to not move forward with these cases if the facts don’t warrant a criminal prosecution.
In Indiana, the legislature announced plans to move forward with sexting laws reform after the upcoming primary. The goal of the bill will be to reduce and differentiate the penalty for teens who may be accused of sending sexually explicit photographs. The current Indiana state law only has provisions for felony child pornography charges.
In Louisiana, the facts are improved, although the state still retails the option to treat sexting as a serious crime. According to nola.com, the new bill that has come out of committee still looks to punish those under 17 with up to a month in jail for ” ‘knowingly and voluntarily’ use a computer or telecommunications device to transmit “an indecent visual depiction of himself”.
Fortunately, the law also has a provision for a suspended jail sentence in exchange for community service. But there is no indication of the use of the juvenile court system, options for future dropped charges, or any education programs, so the law still sounds punitive in nature.
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