Wisconsin Assembly Bill 462 and Senate Bill 367
Wisconsin A.B. 462 and S.B. 367 would make it a crime to disseminate a nude or partially nude image of an adult without the consent of the person depicted.
Category: 2013
Ohio House Bill 74
Ohio H.B. 74 would criminalize speech that causes emotional distress to another person or a person’s family member.
Press Release: Media Organizations Ask Supreme Court to Review New York Decision Which Approved Content-Based Tax on First Amendment-Protected Communication
Some of Media Coalition’s members signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to review a decision of the New York Court of Appeals which upheld a content-based tax on communication protected by the First Amendment.
Press Release: State Concedes Law Restricting Marijuana Magazines is Unconstitutional and Agrees to Permanently Block Enforcement
The State of Colorado joined plaintiffs’ attorneys today in asking a federal judge to declare Colorado’s restrictions on marijuana-related magazines unconstitutional and to enter a permanent order blocking their implementation and enforcement.
Press Release: Bookstores, Newsstands and Bookseller Organizations Challenge Law Violating their First Amendment Rights and those of their Customers
Bookstores, newsstands and two bookseller organizations filed suit yesterday to block enforcement of a law that violates the First Amendment rights of retailers to display magazines that focus on marijuana and their customers’ right to browse those publications.
Rhode Island House Bill 5570
Rhode Island H. 5570 would criminalize the electronic dissemination to a minor of a depiction of nudity or sexually explicit conduct. It would also bar the dissemination of a nude photo without the consent of all the people depicted in the photo. It is a companion bill to S.B. 550.
Wisconsin Senate Bill 184
Wisconsin S.B. 184 would bar the electronic posting of messages where other persons can view them using lewd or profane language or suggesting a lewd or lascivious act with the intent to annoy or offend.
New Hampshire House Bill 110
New Hampshire H.B. 110 would require anyone who witnesses an instance of illegal animal cruelty to livestock or poultry to turn over visual evidence to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours.
677 New Loudon Corporation v. New York Tax Appeals Tribunal
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari, concerning whether a state may discriminate in taxation among First Amendment-protected materials based on the perceived value of their content.
New Jersey Senate Bill 2715
New Jersey S.B. 2715 would require the Department of Education to make available information on how parents’ can limit children’s exposure to electronic media with violent images or themes with specific research and statistics about media effects.
Texas Senate Bill 1512
Texas S.B. 1512 would categorize “sensitive crime scene” photos as not part of public disclosure under Texas’s Public Information Act and would limit access and distribution.
Tattered Cover, Inc. v. Brohl
The U.S. District Court struck down a Colorado law restricting the display of magazines whose focus is marijuana or the marijuana business.
West Virginia Senate Bill 640
West Virginia S.B. 640 would bar the dissemination or display of any depictions of nudity or sexual conduct to minors.
Rhode Island Senate Bill 550
Rhode Island S.B 550 would criminalize the electronic dissemination to a minor of a depiction of nudity or sexually explicit conduct. It would also bar the dissemination of a nude photo without the consent of all the people depicted in the photo. It is a companion bill to H.B. 5570.
Connecticut Senate Bill 328
Connecticut S.B. 328 would require owners of public establishments or arcades to bar minors from using certain video games with violent imagery. The bill would also create a task force to study the effects of video games with violent content on youth behavior.
Kansas House Bill 2165
Kansas H.B. 2165 would change the scienter requirement from “knowingly” to “recklessly” with regards to displaying and distributing materials that are considered harmful to minors.”
Massachusetts Senate Bill 168
Massachusetts S.B. 168 would create a commission to study video games that allow a player to simulate severe battery or killing.
