A bill in Massachussetts seeks to end the exploitation of the elderly* and disabled in pornography, equating it to child pornography. This was intended to address cases where, say, a mentally disabled person didn't know what was being done to them.
“Obviously with the technology evolving, the crimes committed using that technology have increased. That’s clearly the case,” said Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, and one of the contributors to the bill. “All we’re trying to do with these two pieces of legislation is to protect our two most vulnerable populations.”
But equally as obviously, there's plenty of consensual stuff being made, too. This bill kind of implies that most disabled and old people don't know what's going on. Isn't this rather condescending? Or is it just another anti-pornography legislation?
Cases given in the Boston Herald as examples why this legislation is needed mostly cite abuses committed by caregivers of the elderly or disabled persons involved. Shouldn't, then, the law be directed caregivers, and not the easy target of pornography?
Civil rights attorney Harvey Silverglate calls it unconstitutional.
“It seems to be the latest in a long effort to broaden the definition of obscenity,” Silverglate said. “We’ve already got (laws) against coercion. Why is that not adequate?”
*Pictured: Shigeo Tokuda, king of Japanese elderly porn.
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