SALON

Monday, Jun 6, 2011 7:07 PM UTC

New York’s ironic teen “sexting” law

The state of Weiner and Lee wants to warn young people against sending out suggestive pictures

By

Topics: Sexting, War Room, Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., New York,

New York's ironic teen Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. walks from his office to an elevator in the Rayburn House Office Building for a vote, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wed., June 1, 2011. Weiner denied Wednesday sending a lewd photo from his Twitter account to a 21-year-old woman, trying to calm a media furor that has only increased by the day and wasn't put to rest by the combative lawmaker's latest comments. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(Credit: AP)

New York lawmakers are trying to advance a bill that would create an “educational reform” program for teenagers who get in trouble for “sexting,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Amidst Weinergate, it’s hard to ignore the irony that New York’s politicians seem in as much need of “sexting” education as its young people.

The “Cyber Crime Youth Rescue Act” would give prosecutors and judges a more lenient option for dealing with minors accused of using their phones, email or social networking platforms to distribute naked or sexually explicit pictures of themselves or friends (which could constitute child pronography if minors are featured).

Such concerns differ from the issues surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner’s sexting exploits or former New York Rep. Chris Lee’s use of Craigslist to send topless pictures of himself. It is clear, however, that it is not only teens who need to better understand the implications of a sext.

And New York’s political figures should really know better by now, on and offline. Rep. Eric Massa resigned in 2010 after allegations of sexual misconduct with male staffers, including sending “inappropriate” texts. In 2008, now retired Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella revealed that he had a three-year-old child outside of his marriage. And, of course, former governor Eliot Spitzer had his prostitution scandal.

New York state’s youth would do well not to learn by example on this one.

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 1 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Facebook has been used to find ex-lovers, childhood BFFs or the one who got away. He used it to find the guy who, without his consent, made him his drug mule.
248 points249 points | 23 comments
vote
“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”
153 points154 points | 66 comments
vote
Poll: 3 in 10 voters say “armed revolution might be necessary” - 29% say they believe they'll have to act "in order to protect our liberties" in the next few years
46 points47 points | 16 comments
vote
"New evidence reveals big banks still illegally foreclosing on thousands of homes – and weak settlement allows it."
28 points29 points | comment
vote
Are millennials delusional? New research suggests that members of "Generation Me" are warped by a profound sense of entitlement
24 points25 points | 14 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations