Virginia lawmakers rejected a bill aimed at cracking down on cyber flashing.
Senators rejected a bill that passed the House that would create new penalties for cyber flashing, texting unsolicited obscene pictures.
The bill was introduced by Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler, a Democrat from Virginia Beach. "So this bill would make it illegal to send pictures of one's genitals to another without their consent," Convirs-Fowler told a Senate committee. "In 2017, they found that 53 percent of millennial women had received an unsolicited picture of someone's penis."
Senator Chap Petersen is a Democrat from Fairfax City who raised concerns about the bill. "If you were to take a photo of Michaelangelo's David or any Roman or Greek classical statue, you'd be in violation of this statute."
Convirs-Fowler noted flashing is already illegal in real life, and cyber flashing should be too. "I've only heard men address this in the committee," she told senators. "I don't feel like this is getting a fair hearing and this is a huge problem."
All the votes to kill the bill were from men, four male Senate Democrats and four male Senate Republicans.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
