Posted on 09/20/2014 10:53:56 AM PDT by SMGFan
The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday tossed out part of a Texas law banning "improper photography or visual recording" - surreptitious images acquired in public for sexual gratification, often called "upskirting" or "downblousing" - as a violation of federal free-speech rights and an improper restriction on a person's right to individual thoughts.
In an 8-1 ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said photos, like paintings, films and books, are "inherently expressive" and, therefore, are protected by the First Amendment. The opinion supported a previous decision by the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals.
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"The camera is essentially the photographer's pen and paintbrush," the opinion written by Presiding Judge Sharon Keller said. "A person's purposeful creation of photographs and visual recordings is entitled to the same First Amendment protection as the photographs and visual recordings themselves.
(Excerpt) Read more at houstonchronicle.com ...
Photos are exempt. If you look up someone’s skirt, that’s a violation of privacy, because it’s a private view. But if you take a photo and share it, then it’s not private anymore. /s
From what I understood of the ruling it was that which is shown in public is not covered by reasonable expectations of privacy (eg, Bikini at the beach) its not illegal since its public - but where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy like in dressing rooms, bathrooms, etc it was still illegal.
As a photographer I can tell you. If you are in a public place or visible from one. You have none.
They do not!
If they did, any guy could walk up to a lady in public, strip her bare, and gawk away.
Hey, she has no right to privacy. /s
That’s what the Bolsheviks said. It’s why they turned the USSR into one giant prison.
Uh, no. Parking your car in a public space doesn’t give anyone the right to steal the hubcaps, does it?
Not to worry, sharia law is coming and this problem will go away.
Women can wear whatever they please as far as I’m concerned.
If I photo a street scene from a balcony, I shouldn’t be prosecuted because women’s low cut tops show their breasts.
If a man goes without a shirt and a woman finds that arousing and takes his photo, she should be prosecuted?
> In an 8-1 ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said photos, like paintings, films and books, are “inherently expressive” and, therefore, are protected by the First Amendment. The opinion supported a previous decision by the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals.
That’s ironic, because “protecting privacy” in public areas would require a police state ... which kind of eliminates the idea of privacy anyway.
No, not really. All it would take is armed citizens.
“Fragile...it must be Italian.”
Or stay home. Or wear a burkah. :’)
You mean anyone who thinks someone else is photographing them in public would have the right to shoot the guy? LOL. Yeah, that would work.
If a woman’s skirt blows up just as an innocent person photos a scene, he has broken the law?
Some are turned on by an ankle. You going to prosecute them for taking pictures of ankles?
Keep your private parts private if you are worried about them showing. I do.
I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and suggest that this is telling as to how men view women. Whether the photographing is legal or not should serve as a warning to women who reveal too much. These are not photos of women wearing knee length skirts or collar high blouses, these are women wearing clothing that is inappropriate for the activity for which they are engaged (yes, some are likely inconvenient shots taken at just the right time). Whether or not someone is photographing you does not mean that someone is not viewing you in an inappropriate manner; someone may still lust or have sexual thought without a picture.
The problem is people wish to dress or behave in a any manner they like without any consequence. Is it inappropriate to treat a woman who dresses like a prostitute like a prostitute? If you dress like a biker or a gangster rapper and are viewed as dangerous, is that wrong? If your local law enforcement dresses more like a Seal Team member on a op than Barney Fife is it wrong to assume he primary mission is one other than to serve and protect?
Someone will say it is wrong to judge a book by its cover, but is it? Do you invite the guy with a swastika tattooed on his forehead to Thanksgiving Dinner and act surprised when he carves something other than the turkey?
Don’t get me wrong, I love tattoos, sleazy clothing, and inappropriate messages on T shirts. Never in history have the bad, the unstable, and the foolish been so clearly labeled.
Be careful of your thoughts, for they become your words, be careful of your words for they become our action, be careful of our actions for they become our character, be careful of our character for they become our destiny.
We are a people who wish to dress and behave in any manner without consequence; it speaks volumes about our character and our ultimate destiny.
You’re presuming everyone who carries a gun or other deadly weapon is a criminal-minded person looking to gratify some dark impulses, by that comment.
Upskirt some of the female judges, or the wives, mothers, daughters, sisters of the male judges. Bet the law changes quickly...
thread visit in anticipation of photos of the evidence of the trial.
I guess this means my 9yr old daughter can’t wear dresses in public again.
How much do you think upskirt photos of 9yr old girls would sell for on the internet?
Or did you think this just applied to grown women who venture out commando?
I'm trying to envision the scenario where an armed citizen encounters someone with a camera in a public space. Exactly what is the legal basis for the said armed citizen shooting someone whose only "crime" is taking a photograph in a public space?
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