Around New England

Westfield State Senator Says He Backs A Revenge Porn Ban

January 3, 2023

Massachusetts and South Carolina have something in common.

They are the only two states in the country where revenge porn remains legal.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker wants to see that change; the same is true of state Senator John Velis (D-Westfield).

“I mean you want to talk about something that takes someone’s mental well-being, and just puts them into a tail spin, it’s awful, it’s reprehensible conduct and it needs to be outlawed. There needs to be stiff penalties for doing this,” Velis told WWLP for a story published Friday, December 30, 2022.

On May 26, 2022, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 154-0 to approve a bill (H.4498) sponsored by the House Ways and Means Committee that would ban revenge porn; it would make revenge porn offenses subject to the state’s criminal harassment laws. That carries a penalty of up to 2 1/2 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000. The bill offers a less strict punishment for minors:  a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in a juvenile correctional facility.

However, no such bill has come up for a vote in the Massachusetts Senate; the legislative session ends on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

If the bill does not pass this session, then a new version may come up again in the new legislative session.

 

New to NewBostonPost?  Conservative media is hard to find in Massachusetts.  But you’ve found it.  Now dip your toe in the water for two bucks — $2 for two months.  And join the real revolution.


Read More