Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Tennessee Bans Posting 'Offensive' Images Online

Posted by timothy on from the I-find-this-offensive dept.

Chaonici writes "Last Monday, Tennessee's Governer Bill Haslam signed a law prohibiting the transmission or display of an image that is likely to 'frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress to' anyone who sees it. In Tennessee, it is already illegal to use other methods of communication, such as telephones or e-mail, to offend someone; the new law updates legislation to include images sent or posted online. However, the scope of this law is broader, in that anyone who sees the image is a potential victim. If a court finds that a violator should have known that someone would be offended by the image in question, they face up to a year in prison or up to $2,500 in fines."

4 of 372 comments (clear)

  1. Someone got a picture of the law? by MrHanky · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure it would offend most people on here. Ironic that a law text should be able to break itself.

  2. Free speech by losttoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    hey Tennessee, Saudi Arabia called. They want their right to suppress free speech back.

  3. Holiday Fun! by AioKits · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, can't wait for this come the winter seasons. Nativity scene on the front lawn of a government property should do just nicely. It would probably fall under at least one of the 'frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress to' requirements for someone out there. What good is creating a poorly worded cudgel if everyone doesn't get a turn at using it? Heheee.

    --
    "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
  4. You have no right to not be offended by spidercoz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It will happen, it's part of life. How you deal with it is what matters. You can either be an adult, suck it up, and move on, or you can be a little crybaby bitch and turn it into a huge legal stink costing taxpayers money.

    This is one of those bullshit laws that lawyers love. It doesn't even matter if they win a case on it, they still make off like bandits. How the hell they can even pretend to legislate something as completely subjective as "offense" is beyond me. If there were any real justice this would have been struck down as unconstitutional the moment it became law.

    Good job, Tennessee, once again you've made the whole country look like a bunch of backward illiterate morons.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire