“No” on HR 1761!
While closing “loopholes” in child porn legislation, HR 1761 is overbroad in scope and will punish those it is designed to protect: teens. At least half of our teens have admitted to teen-to-teen sexting, this bill could land them in jail for a 15-year mandatory sentence. Don’t remove judicial discretion! The bill has passed the House and now heads to the Senate. We need to stop it now!
Script: I’m calling to ask Senator (____) to vote “NO” on HR 1761. With sentencing discretion removed from judges, our private prison system will fill up with teenagers serving mandatory 15- year sentences for doing what half of teenagers admit to doing. Revenge sexts and bullying need to be addressed and punished, but this is going too far.
More Info:http://reason.com/blog/2017/05/31/house-overwhelmingly-supports-bill-subje
Extra credit: Email our Reps. Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal and ask why they both voted to place so many of our teens in such serious legal jeopardy. As John Conyers (D-MI), who voted “NO”, explained, “We simply cannot rely on prospective discretion to protect juveniles under this statute, given the new policy of the Attorney General. We are under a new regime here at the federal level, and I can’t depend on relying on the prosecutorial discretion to protect juveniles under this statute.” Here’s some more references to draw from when writing your email:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/18/living/teens-sexting-what-parents-can-do/
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 