House considers legislation to create an internet porn registry and require porn sites to have age verification
On Wednesday, the Alabama House Judiciary Committee considered legislation that would require any company that would distribute pornography over the internet to consumers in the state of Alabama to register with the state of Alabama, and that site must have some form of age verification to make sure children cannot access pornography. House Bill 441 (HB441) is sponsored by State Representative Ben Robbins. HB441 is cosponsored by House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen and Rep. Jamie Kiel. “This bill is trying to prevent children from having access to pornography,” Robbins said. “A company that wanted to distribute pornography would be required to register with the state of Alabama.” Robbins said that this bill is necessary to protect children from the harmful effects of pornography, “The more hyper-sexualized you are, the more violent you become to your partner of the opposite gender,” Robbins explained. “After the registration, a commercial entity is required to have an age verification process to verify that you are at least 18 years old. In some states, they use biometrics. That could be off a credit report. Robbins offered a substitute to the version of the bill that he had originally introduced. “The sub changes some of the language that Rep. (Matt) Simpson had about privacy rights,” Robbins said. “It also addresses the cause of action questions that Rep (David) Faulkner had.” Robbins explained that the substitute makes it severable if one portion of the act is declared unconstitutional, then the rest of the act can remain in place. Robbins added that the bill includes language so that “if they (the porn company) save any data from you, then you would have a cause of action.” Rep. Ontario Tillman asked, “Is this patterned after a similar statute?” Robbins said that initially, his bill was all original but has borrowed some language from bills in other places. “No state or country, as far as I know, have a registration component.” The synopsis states, “This bill would provide legislative findings regarding the public health crisis caused by pornography. This bill would prohibit the distribution of material harmful to minors under 18 years of age. This bill would require distributors of material harmful to minors to take certain reasonable measures to ensure their published material is not distributed to minor children by use of age verification procedures. This bill would require distributors of material harmful to minors to pay a licensing fee to distribute pornography in this state and would provide for the distribution of the fee. This bill would also provide penalties for violations.” A study by the Children’s Commissioner for England found that one out of ten children have watched pornography by the time they are nine years old. Four out of five (79%) surveyed have seen pornography involving violence by the age of 18. One in three young people have actively sought out depictions of sexual violence such as physical aggression, coercion, and degradation. The report, by Dame Rachel de Souza, also points to the harmful effects of exposure to violent pornography. Nearly half of the 16- to 21-year-olds who took part in the survey assumed girls either “expect” or “enjoy” sex that involves physical aggression, such as airway restriction. “Throughout my career as school leader, I have witnessed the harmful impact of pornography on young people. I will never forget the girl who told me about her first kiss with her boyfriend, aged 12, who strangled her. He had seen it in pornography and thought it normal,” she wrote in the foreword to her report. On Tuesday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation to further protect children from pornography by requiring that all new cell phones sold in the state have their installed porn filters turned on. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
House Democrats urge passage of strong gun laws to curb gun violence, not more prisons
On Wednesday, members of the Alabama House Democrat Caucus held a press conference to promote their bills to curb gun violence by passing more restrictions on guns. Democratic lawmakers Chris England, Phillip Ensler, and Ontario Tillman have all sponsored bills that would add certain restrictions on gun owners in Alabama. The legislators oppose the permitless carry bill that was passed last year and became law at the first of this year. “Requiring a permit makes it easier for us to recognize who is supposed to have guns,” England said. There is, “An 11 percent increase in homicides in states that have passed similar laws.” Alabama Today asked that instead of putting government limits on guns, why not build more prisons to lock up more people for longer periods of time that commit serious crimes. “There is no correlation between firearm possession and the access to them and the number of prisons that we have,” England said. “We’re lawmakers. We’re responsible for governing systems. It is impossible to suggest to people that we are governing systems if our only answer is to build more prison space; because we can’t afford it at this point, and also building more prison space will not remove the proliferation of guns we have seen since January First of this year. It is indisputable at this point that there are more guns on our streets now than ever before in our history because it is easier for people who shouldn’t have them to carry them in public. I don’t know how that helps us in regard to public safety, and it certainly does not help us when we talk about adding more prison space.” “Some of these proposals do have criminal penalties if someone violates them, so we all believe to be clear in accountability and enforcement, but building more prisons and locking people up for life for committing a crime is not where we stand,” Ensler said. “What we are saying is yes, if you commit a crime, there should be consequences, but if we want to get into the conversation of building more prisons, we need to focus on, as we have talked many times as a Caucus, is having better reentry programs. Having better services that help people stay out of prison in the first place. So, absolutely no. Building more prisons is not the solution to this. That would be an easy and cowardly way to try to address the issue.” “We are a solution looking for a problem,” Tillman said. “We are fighting the symptoms instead of the root cause. The reason why people are in prison is because they have been convicted of a serious crime or a crime attaching prison time along with it. What we need to address is the problem of gun violence. We need to reduce it. We need to curb it. We need to stop letting our children be gunned down at their workplaces, at their churches, and different places like that. This is supposed to be a safe haven. What we need to do is represent all of the people of Alabama and protect the citizens of Alabama.” “There is nothing normal or acceptable about this,” Tillman said of gun violence. “We are here today because we refuse to accept this as the new normal.” “The leading cause of death of children in Alabama is gun violence,” Tillman said. “We are not trying to take away the Second Amendment rights of people to own guns.” Tillman expressed his support for red flag laws, outlawing the Glock Switch, and “repealing dangerous laws like the before mentioned concealed carry.” “These are common sense proposals that the majority of people support,” Tillman said. “Gun violence is an epidemic that is impacting everyone,” Ensler said. “These are reasonable proven measures that have worked in other cities and other states, including in Republican states.” “Rep. Drummond has been working on a bill that has gotten out of committee legislation to keep guns off of school campuses and making sure that parents are responsible,” Ensler said. Ensler has introduced eight different measures. These include a ban on trigger activators or ‘Glock switches,’ a ban on ghost guns- guns that do not have serial numbers, a line item in the budget to fund hospital-based violence intervention programs in trauma centers, a red flag law, more mental health counselors in schools, and more, the creation of a grant program through ADECA for cities to implement programs to end gun violence. “This is a preventable crisis,” England said. Thursday will be day 15 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
House Committee advances bill to combat youth gang violence
On Wednesday, the Alabama House Judiciary Committee voted to advance legislation that would prosecute 16-year-olds as adults if they are found to be affiliated with a gang. House Bill 191 (HB191) was sponsored by State Representative Allen Treadaway. “I was asked to carry HB191 by the Alabama Attorney General’s (Steve Marshall) office and with good reason,” Treadaway said. Treadaway is retired as a deputy Birmingham police chief. “I spent 31 years in law enforcement, and this is alarming,” Treadaway of the growing gang violence problem in Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, and communities across Alabama. “If we don’t do something with the type of behavior this bill is trying to address, we are going to have a lot more innocent victims,” Treadaway warned. “We have had innocent victims who have been hurt and are dying all across the state.” The Alabama Gang Prevention Act provides penalty enhancements for felonies committed to further the interests of a gang, attaches a minimum sentence to any use of a firearm to promote the gang, and certifies individuals aged 16 and older as adults when charged with gang-related offenses under the Act. Treadaway presented a letter from sheriffs and police chiefs across Alabama supporting HB191. “Just about every sheriff and police chief has signed on to this,” Treadaway said. Rep. Christopher England spoke in opposition to the bill. “Do we not have any other answer other than locking people up?” England said. “The more people we put in prison, the less space we have for the people that really need to be there.” “We have the same problem in Tuscaloosa,” England said. “There is another answer out there other than put them in jail for as long as possible.” Rep. Ontario Tillman said, “We are going to lock up a kid because he is associated with a gang member or law enforcement thinks he is.” Tillman made a motion to send HB191 to a subcommittee. Rep. Jim Hill chairs the House Judiciary Committee. “The NOs have it,” Hill said after a voice vote. Rep. Penny McClammy said, “Why is the first thing we think about is tougher punishment, but we never address the problem.” McClammy suggested that the state should develop some sort of a program for those kids who are in and out of trouble. “Unfortunately, there are individuals that fall through the cracks and commit very violent crime,” Treadaway said. “They have been afforded every opportunity. Unfortunately, those people are hell-bent on killing people.” “I care more about the victims,” Treadaway said. “We better have a place to put them, or there is going to be another victim. Look at the folks left behind by the violence. It leaves children without a father or a mother.” State Rep. David Faulkner made a motion to give HB191 a favorable report. The motion passed. HB191 received a favorable report. The House could consider HB191 as soon as Thursday. According to the synopsis, “This bill would identify gang members. This bill would enhance penalties for any criminal activity that benefits, promotes, or furthers the interest of a gang. The bill would establish mandatory consecutive penalties for any individual who knowingly possesses, uses, or carries a firearm during the commission of any act intended to benefit, promote, or further the interest of a gang. Under existing law, juveniles 16 years of age or older are tried as adults for certain crimes. This bill would require any juvenile 16 or older to be tried as an adult for any gang-related criminal activity.” Senate Bill 143 (SB143) is the Senate version of the same bill. SB143 is sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot. Thursday will be day 10 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
