Virginia's
Laws Against Sex Related Issues
The state
General Assembly has several new sex-related bills that are making
their way through various committees. Some of these are common sense,
others are questionably infringing on freedom of expression-
No watching
porn videos in your car if other motorists can see. $250 Fine.
No fondling
yourself in public, even under your clothes. Misdemeanor- jail
time.
No sex-related
clubs in schools, specifically the newly formed Harrison High's
Gay and Straight Alliance.
No style of
pants that hang down exposing underwear. $50 Fine.
The ACLU
often opposes such sex-related bills as being either discriminatory
or an infringement on personal privacy. Some of the sex-related
bills introduced this session are quite serious. Del. John Cosgrove,
R-Chesapeake, has introduced a bill that would ban the taking
of so-called upskirt photos, a practice in which men point a camera
up women's skirts and take pictures or videos.
It's a pastime
that has boomed in recent years, fueled by the Internet and something
that has been a particular problem along Virginia Beach's oceanfront.
That bill was written at the request of a commonwealth's attorney
in Chesapeake who was irritated that harassment and other laws
weren't adequate to fully prosecute a man who took a camera into
a store last year and snapped upskirt photos in broad daylight,
Cosgrove said. "Current laws just weren't enough to get this dirtball,"
he said.
A serious
attempt to modify the state constitution to include a ban on same-sex
marriage, a major issue in last year's presidential race, is picking
up steam in the General Assembly. Gay marriage is already prohibited
in Virginia, but it doesn't have the weight of the state constitution
behind it.
Read
Why Gay Marriage Is Not A Moral Issue, But A Civil Right
