An Oklahoma anti-porn bill could outlaw any sort of sexualized image — pornographic or not — and ban sending nude photographs outside of marriage.
Last week, Oklahoma State Senator Dusty Deevers proposed the Oklahoma Senate Bill 1976 that will make the production and viewing of consenting pornography a felony — punishable with up to 20 years in prison.
According to a report by Reason Magazine, the wide-reaching bill, which is slated to be formally introduced on February 5, could have potential ramifications for any sort of nudity in photography in the state.
Reason Magazine reports that the legislation targets a broad definition of “porn” that threatens not just “hardcore pornography” but all sorts of erotic expression in media.
The Oklahoma Senate Bill 1976 seeks to define a new category of largely prohibited content called “unlawful pornography.”
In the proposed bill, unlawful pornography is described as “any visual depiction or individual image stored or contained in any format on any medium including, but not limited to, film, motion picture, videotape, photograph, negative, undeveloped film, slide, photographic product, reproduction of a photographic product, play, or performance” when the depiction involves not just any sort of sex act or sexual fetish — but also nudity and partial nudity.
According to the bill, unlawful depiction includes the “lewd exhibition of the uncovered genitals, buttocks, or, if such person is female, the breast” which is “for the purpose of sexual stimulation of the viewer.”
If this legislation is passed in Oklahoma, the buying, viewing, or possession of such “unlawful pornography” would be a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison or a fine of up to $25,000.
All “unlawful porn” would be off limits to produce or distribute unless it was deemed to have “serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific purposes or value.” However, the bill does not explain exactly how the state will judge when a sexualized image has artistic value — or is an illegal obscenity.
Furthermore, Reason Magazine reports that the wording of the Oklahoma Senate Bill 1976 suggests that it would ban and criminalize sending sexualized selfies to someone that a person that is not their husband or wife. The Oklahoma Senate Bill 1976 states that it does not seek to “prevent spouses from sending images of a sexual nature to each other.”
Image credits: Header photo via Oklahoma Senate (left) and legiscan (right).