Wyoming Senate Committee Approves ‘Revenge Porn’ Bill
The Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Friday aimed at so-called "revenge porn." House Bill 85 has already passed the state House on a 60-0 vote.
Approval from the Senate would send the bill to Governor Mark Gordon. You can read the bill here. The legislation is aimed at the distribution of intimate pictures of people featuring nudity or sexual activity, with the intent of embarrassing the person depicted.
The bill could apply either to actual images of the intended victim, or photoshopped images where the person's head appears on someone else's body. A common scenario for the activity being targeted might be when a boyfriend and girlfriend have ended their relationship, and one of them posts intimate pictures online or on social media as a way to harass or embarrass the other.
According to committee testimony, Wyoming is one of the few states that does not have such a law on the books. The bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Clark Stith [R-Sweetwater County], told the committee the bill was an effort to close a loophole in state law. Under the version of the bill passed by the House, the person convicted under the bill could face a penalty of up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of $1000.
But the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday added language to the bill making a second offense under the bill a felony, with the person found guilty liable for up to three years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
If the Senate passes the version of the bill approved by the Judiciary Committee on Friday, the two houses would have to come to an agreement on whether to include the felony language for second offenders. House Bill 87 would only apply to adults age 18 or older because Wyoming already has a "sexting" law in place covering the same offense when committed by juveniles. The bill won committee approval on a 4-0 vote.
Committee Chair Sen. Tara Nethercott was absent for the vote because she was attending another legislative committee hearing at the time the vote was taken.