By: Kamrin Baker
On March 13, the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee gathered to hold a hearing for LB 164, a bill introduced by Senator Megan Hunt that would prohibit the sharing or distribution of sexual photographs or videos without the consent of the person depicted; otherwise known as revenge pornography.
Hunt began her introduction to the Judiciary Committee by acknowledging the need to go through the bill with a “fine tooth comb.” However, she felt a need to bring the issue to the forefront of the Legislature, as 41 states have criminalized revenge porn and ignoring the problem would send “a message that sexual exploitation is acceptable,” according to Hunt’s statement, provided in a transcript to the Omaha News.
After a brief chat with Senator Ernie Chambers, the Judiciary Committee began listening to testimony from proponents. A key proponent of LB 164 was Diane Parris, a woman who was subject to the threat of revenge pornography when her husband ran for Legislature in 2018.
Parris said a nude image was sent to her husband via email, and she knew who had taken the photo. When her husband took the emails and image to the La Vista Police Department, they said there was little they could do.
“I felt outraged. I felt helpless,” Parris said in her testimony. “I left an abusive relationship in 1994. I thought I was gone.”
Spike Eickholt of the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association testified to oppose the bill, saying he believes the Legislature could look inward at existing laws and perhaps modify those.
“We would submit the Legislature look at a couple of other existing laws that are already criminalizing this conduct,” Eickholt said in his testimony. “Otherwise, you’ve got this new law and you’ve got other crimes out there and you’ve just got this splintering, further splintering the criminal code, and that’s just something that we’ve at least tried to be consistent in testifying against.”
Lastly, John Idoux from CenturyLink offered a neutral testimony and brought an amendment to the committee’s attention, asking that the bill use “very direct language” to hold that communications providers should “not be held liable” when they are unaware of the content being transmitted using their services.
In her closing statement, Hunt reflected on the efficacy of LB 164, hoping to reiterate to the committee the importance of ending sexual exploitation in Nebraska.
“This legislation is not a silver bullet, but it’s a step toward bringing justice to women and victims of nonconsensual pornography across our state,” Hunt said. “I think that reliance on existing law is insufficient because of the pervasiveness of technology in the United States, this just changing the application of the law.
Hunt said that whether LB 164 or a bill introduced by one of her colleagues passes, she wants to address the issue once and for all.
“I don’t really have an ego about this bill. It’s not about this bill. I know that we’re hearing a lot of different types of legislation that affect this broader problem and to us, as a body, that should tell us that this is a real problem,” Hunt said. “I’m not going to insist that we shove this bill through in the form that it’s in right now because I’m not coming in here with a legal mind or a mind with legal experience or criminal experience. I’m coming in here as someone with experience in being a young woman in 2019.”
On March 19, about a week after the committee hearing for LB 164, Senator Adam Morfeld posted a statement on his Facebook page announcing that his bill criminalizing revenge pornography was prioritized by the Judiciary Committee.
“I am looking forward to working with Senator Megan Hunt and Senator Suzanne Geist who introduced similar legislation,” Morfeld said on Facebook.
For more information, visit https://nebraskalegislature.gov.
