SB 104-07: Self-Immunity Act (Passed)

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AN ACT
To ensure people aren't put in jail for stupid reasons

Be it enacted by the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia assembled

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Self-Immunity Act.

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themselves, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

Sponsor: MB

The gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands is recognized.

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Needless to say, people who do take nude or obscene photos of themselves often end up paying for it. Revenge porn is a terrible thing, and that is what law enforcement should be focusing on. The government should not add another layer of humiliation by boxing these teenagers in with real sex offenders and putting their entire livelihoods in jeopardy for an innocent mistake.

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Speaking of revenge porn, this bill gives us a great opportunity to ban it or mitigate it. The South has similar legislation, but I'm not sure if this is an issue the federal government can handle. If there aren't any constitutional problems, we should ban revenge porn federally and invest in prosecuting cases. With the caveat that the internet is extremely difficult to regulate.

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I offer the following amendment:

Section 2. Ban on Revenge Porn

Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a federal misdemeanor: “A person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.”

Based on the California law.

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I disagree with this bill. I believe there should be a level of decency and to protect our citizens' privacy.

Why should a minor be prosecuted for possessing a nude photo of themself but not of adults? How does this protect a person's privacy if somebody is choosing to send an image of themselves to somebody else?

My amendment would obviously strengthen privacy.

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Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment.

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I disagree with this bill. I believe there should be a level of decency and to protect our citizens' privacy.

Why should a minor be prosecuted for possessing a nude photo of themself but not of adults? How does this protect a person's privacy if somebody is choosing to send an image of themselves to somebody else?

My amendment would obviously strengthen privacy.

If that image falls into the wrong hands it threatens the minor's privacy rights.

Yes. That's why you go after the people who exploit those images, not kids sending their own nudes.

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Hearing no objection, the amendment is adopted.

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Question. Are we effectively legalizing teenagers selling their nudes here? Personally I would oppose such a thing and would urge the Senate to ensure the language of the bill doesn’t end up doing that.

I can't really read that into the text. Possession and distribution of child pornography is already illegal. And if a minor were selling their nudes for money, the website responsible for hosting them would be forced to ban them from using the site.

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A final vote will open in 24 hours.

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A minor grammatical change. "Themself" is recognized as a word by most dictionaries. Senator Scott should be able to make this change without waiting for 24 hours.

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themselvesf, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

Thank you. Noted.

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Here's a new amendment to ban commercial distribution of this type of content; thank you to the former president:

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or non-commercial distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themselves, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

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Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment.

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Hearing no objection, the amendment is adopted.

Last call for changes; final vote in 24 hours.

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Self-Immunity Act.

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or non-commercial distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themself, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

Section 2. Ban on Revenge Porn

Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a federal misdemeanor: “A person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.”

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A final vote is now open. Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Self-Immunity Act.

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or non-commercial distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themself, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

Section 2. Ban on Revenge Porn

Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a federal misdemeanor: “A person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.”

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Aye

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This bill has enough votes to pass. Senators have 24 hours to change their vote.

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Vote on Final Senate Passage of the Self-Immunity Act:

Aye (15): Scott, Ishan, DeadPrez, Jimmy7812, Weatherboy, AGA, MB, FalterinArc, KoopaDaQuick, Kuumo, OBD, wxtransit, Joseph Cao, North Carolina Yankeee, DTC
Nay (0):
Abstain (1): Spark

Didn't Vote (2): Talleyrand, Pericles

The bill has passed the Senate and is sent to the President for executive action.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Self-Immunity Act.

Section 1. Protection from Prosecution

1. No person may be charged with a crime for possession or non-commercial distribution of a nude or otherwise obscene image taken solely of themself, regardless of the age it was taken at.
2. All persons previously charged with such an offense which falls under the circumstances described shall have the conviction wiped from their record.

Section 2. Ban on Revenge Porn

Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a federal misdemeanor: “A person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.”


Senate of the Republic of Atlasia
Passed 15-0-1-2 in the Atlasian Senate assembled,

Scott, President pro tempore