This is simply beyond parody

[dreamshark]

Young teenagers are being charged with creation and possession of child pornography for sending nude pictures of themselves to each other, thus "protecting" these children (from exploitation by THEMSELVES) by charging them with a felony. Um. I can't even think of a way to comment on that.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28679588/

Comments

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

"The law is an ass"?

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Speechless, me, too.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I don't believe this is the first time.

I'm now wondering how they're going to mesh the protection of identities of underage criminals with the mandatory sexual predator registration programs in various states.

[lakeboy-55.livejournal.com]

As a culture, we're paranoid and crazy. I so want to be somewhere else.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

The problem (or part of the problem) is mandatory sentencing. The laws have to be written broadly enough to catch actual child pornographers but with enough wiggle room to let the obviously innocent go. With strict guidelines, the whole "innocent until proven guilty" biz tends to be overrun by sphincter conservatives forcing a zero tolerance policy.

In this case, I think the girls (and the boys) should be discouraged from "sexting", but the punishment should be meted out by parents not the legal system.

[vanaabegra.livejournal.com]

Oh, FFS! Lets take a poorly written/overly broad law and make some (mostly) innocent teenager's lives hell. Jeebus! No one was harmed, the girls took the pictures themselves and sent the pictures themselves. No harm, no foul, except perhaps some embarrassment. Also, didn't SCOTUS already rule that nude pictures in and of themselves do not constitute child porn?

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

"Also, didn't SCOTUS already rule that nude pictures in and of themselves do not constitute child porn?"

I dunno, maybe. But considering the circumstances it's hard to argue that there is no salacious intent involved.

The mind-bending part is trying to figure out how it is possible for minor children to exploit themselves, under a law that is specifically based on the principle that said minor children do not have the maturity to make adult decisions affecting their sexuality. Who exactly is the victim here?