PHOENIX – It’s January in Arizona, which means it’s time for an annual pilgrimage of sorts, as a curious tribe of primitive people known as Arizona Legislators gather for a series of meetings, debates and meaningless symbolic gestures that will last until late April.
Traditionally, the Grand Canyon State’s legislators occupy themselves with important things like passing laws requiring Presidential candidates to prove their American citizenship before being listed on ballots in the state and debating laws that would criminalize using “any electronic device” to communicate in “obscene, lewd or profane language” with the intent to offend.
Every once in a while, though, the legislators throw us all a curve ball and do the truly unexpected. In some cases, they might even, say, craft a new bill designed to address a pressing issue, maybe even to forestall a pending lawsuit, agree upon its language…and then forget to vote on it.
Look, before we get too harsh on these part-time stewards of the state, we have to consider that this sort of thing happens all the time in government. Even in the private sector, who among us can honestly say they’ve never forgotten the entire reason their job exists in the first place? I get the feeling employees of Auto Zone suffer from this kind of occupational amnesia every time I come around the place looking for replacement parts.
At any rate, with the coming of January 2016, the Arizona legislators now have another chance to pass a revised version of the state’s (permanently enjoined) revenge porn law, assuming they manage to put the eventual vote on the calendar this time around.
Rep. J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) is hoping the third time is a charm, as this will be his third successive crack at sponsoring a revenge porn bill, something he said is even more needed now than when the legislature debated it the first two times.
“This is becoming a growing problem, especially for women,” Mesnard said. “Their lives are ruined professionally and personally. I’m trying to speed it through and take some shortcuts, because we already voted on it in the House and the Senate.”
While I’d like to think Mesnard’s optimism is well-placed, experience tells me it’s best to remain skeptical until the votes are counted — and beyond, for that matter.
On the other hand, at least this time around the ACLU sees improvement in the language of the bill — not a triviality, considering it was the ACLU representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the injunction staying enforcement of the 2014 version.
“Under previous iterations [the law] criminalized anyone who published or distributed a nude image without the consent of the person,” said Will Gaona, ACLU policy director. “The most recent version narrows its application and gets behind the behavior it was intended to address.”
Of course, it’s always possible the current language of the bill won’t match what the legislature eventually votes on — especially if there’s an opportunity to tack on verbiage relating to some local, parochial interest, like preventing people in Avondale from getting hypnotized.
One thing seems assured, though: If and when the legislature finally passes a law specifically criminalizing revenge porn, there will soon be cases for the state to prosecute. According to Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, several cases from last year would have resulted in charges had the state’s law been enforceable at the time the offenses were committed.
Maybe this year, the legislators can tie a ribbon around their fingers come late April as a reminder to do their jobs. (Just a thought.)
