GA Politician Seeks to Ban Photoshop Jokes, Saying “No one Has the Right to Make Fun of Anyone”

Georgia Politician Seeks to Ban Photoshop Jokes, Saying “No one Has the Right to Make Fun of Anyone”

By JG Vibes
theintelhub.com
February 14, 2013

A politician in Georgia named Earnest Smith has been attempting to outlaw photoshop jokes for years, but now he has renewed the effort after pictures of his head photoshopped onto a porn stars body started making their way around the internet.

A Georgia state lawmaker with an unconventional grasp of the First Amendment is backing a bill that would make lewd photoshopping a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine.

Rep. Earnest Smith pointed, as proof of the problem, to a picture of his head that was recently edited onto a pornstar’s body. That image was created by a blogger who used the image to mock Smith.

The Augusta-based legislator said he was not worried the bill would step on First Amendment rights.

“Everyone has a right to privacy,” he said. “No one has a right to make fun of anyone. It’s not a First Amendment right.”

The politician did not provide any specifics of the legislation, but after being pressed to provide details, he said, “At this juncture, I am not at liberty to share anything with you. I don’t have to. If and when this bill passes we can revisit the issue and if I choose to give you details at that time I will, but until then I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Smith first introduced his proposal a year ago. According to the bill’s summary, it would make it a misdemeanor offense to alter a photograph that “causes an unknowing person wrongfully to be identified as the person in an obscene depiction.” Smith introduced the legislation last year after a teenage girl was subjected to “online attacks.”

However, after a picture of his head photoshopped on the body of a naked man stretched out on some rocks started circling the Internet, Smith renewed his efforts.

According to arstech Andre Walker, a blogger at Georgia Unfiltered, has been taunting Smith (NSFW) with images of his face photoshopped into a variety of “obscene depictions.”

“I cannot believe Rep. Earnest Smith thinks I’m insulting him by putting his head on the body of a well-built porn star,” Walker told said.

When asked if he thought his bill would target parodies — which are protected by the First Amendment — he said it didn’t matter.

“They (parody creators) live for something like this,” Smith said. “They are vulgar. This is about being vulgar. We’re becoming a nation of vulgar people.”

Good Luck pig! I have a feeling that his recent statements will create a new wave of photoshopped pictures.

*****

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