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Bill
# HB194
Obscenity amendments
Obscenity amendments
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Summary

Bill Description

AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; creating the crime of promoting obscenity to minors; amending the crime of promoting obscenity as specified; providing and amending definitions; repealing an exemption from the crime of promoting obscenity for activities conducted in the course of employment at a school, college, university, museum or public library; repealing obsolete provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Notes

HB194 sets in place new definitions and penalties for individuals that promote obscenity to minors as well as amending definitions and language in existing statues related to promoting obscenity to minors.    


Definitions:
 "Disseminate" means to sell, distribute, deliver, provide, exhibit, import, export, rent, lend, transfer possession of or title to, provide, display, show, present, broadcast, transmit, retransmit, communicate by telephone, play, orally communicate, perform or otherwise make available to another whether in person or electronically;

"Material" includes any form of human expression or communication intended for, or capable of, visual, auditory or sensory perception.; This includes, without limitation:

 (A)  A book, leaflet, pamphlet, magazine, picture, drawing, photograph, film, negative, slide, motion picture, figure, object, novelty, device, recording, transcription, live or recorded telephone message or any other similar item, whether tangible or intangible;
 (B)  A performance, exhibition, transmission or distribution of any materials defined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
 (C)  A live performance or exhibition that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sadomasochistic behavior or abuse, as those terms are defined in this subsection, whether to the public or an audience of one (1) or more persons.
 
"Harmful to minors" means that quality of any description, exhibition, presentation or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse, when the material or performance has the following characteristics:
 (A)  The average person eighteen (18) years of age or older would find that the material or performance has a predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex to minors;
 (B)  The average person eighteen (18) years of age or older would find that the material or performance depicts or describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse in a manner that is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors; and
 (C)  The material or performance lacks serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic or political value for minors.
 
"Nudity" means a:
 (A)  Showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with no covering or less than a fully opaque covering;
 (B)  Showing of the female breast with no covering or less than a fully opaque covering of any portion of the female breast below the top of the nipple; or
 (C)  Depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
 
"Sexual conduct" means:
 (A)  Any act of sexual intercourse, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, sadomasochistic abuse or bestiality;
 (B)  Any other physical contact with a person's unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or female breast, whether alone or between members of the same or opposite sex or between a human and an animal, in an act of sexual stimulation or attempting to sexually stimulate, gratification or perversion;
 (C)  Any sexual or gender‑oriented material that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing or movements, presentations or activities in any place where minors are expected, invited or are known to be present.

"Sexual intercourse" means coitus or copulation, whether genital‑genital, oral‑genital, anal‑genital or oral‑anal, and whether between persons of the same or opposite sex or between a human and an animal.

 A person commits the crime of promoting obscenity to a minor if he, knowing the character of the material involved, knowingly:
 (i)  Disseminates, furnishes, presents, provides, makes available, gives, lends, shows or advertises to a minor material that is harmful to minors;
 (ii)  Provides, invites or promotes an event to minors that includes material that is harmful to minors; or
 (iii)  Transmits or sends to a person that the person believes is a minor by means of electronic mail, personal messaging or any other direct internet communication material that is harmful to minors when the person knows or believes at the time of transmission that a minor in this state will receive that material.
 
Promoting obscenity to a minor is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) or by imprisonment for not to exceed one (1) year, or both.

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