Ryan Ray
Titusville Republican Rep. Tom Goodson has filed legislation banning revenge porn — the public sharing of sexually explicit media without the consent of the person depicted, often by former lovers — for the third time in as many years.
The bill was conceived back in 2012 in partnership with Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey who explained in a statement “My Deputies’ hands were tied since this was not a crime in the State of Florida. It’s hard to tell victims that there is nothing we can do and watch them walk away with tears of humiliation and emotional distress all over again.”
Fourteen states currently laws on the books prohibiting the distribution of revenge porn. The laws have their detractors, however, who argue that they curtail free speech.
“Some people feel that a law like this would be a violation of their First Amendment right, but I beg to differ. It is not your right to bully, harass, embarrass or cause harm to another individual. The harm caused by such actions is not something that can simply be erased and often results in a lifetime of harassment and humiliation. Other states are getting it right and it’s time for Florida to get on board,” said Goodson.
Goodson’s bill, HB 151, has yet to attract a Senate sponsor. Last year’s HB 475, co-sponsored by Sen. David Simmons of Altamonte Springs, died in committee.
