Sexting Ban: Tennessee Lawmakers Want To Ban Explicit Texts By Minors But Not 'Ruin Their Life'

NASHVILLE, TN — A bill with broad bipartisan support would explicitly ban sexting by minors in Tennessee, though the change to state law would technically provide for a lower punishment than what's currently on the books.

Two Williamson County lawmakers — State Rep. Glen Casada and State Sen. Jack Johnson — are sponsoring a bill which would create what's known as a status offense for a minor who "intentionally or knowingly, by use of a telecommunication device, transmits, distributes, publishes, or disseminates a photograph, video, or other

material that contains a sexually explicit image of a minor" or who possesses such material.

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The legislation exempts minors who receive such images unsolicited and who either delete the image or report it to a parent, guardian, teacher or law enforcement. The proposal also allows minors who have nude photos of themselves to escape punishment.

Under existing law, the possession of such images of minors by other minors is a felony; the change instead designates it as an "unruly act," allowing juvenile court judges and prosecutors to levy far less stringent penalties and not charge them with a felony and "ruin their life," Johnson said.

"There's nothing in the (state) code to deal with a 17-year-old kid who sends a picture to her 17-year-old boyfriend and vice versa," the senator told The Tennessean.

A status offense is not a criminal charge, but instead refers children to the Department of Children's Service and can lead to shelter care. It is typically applied to "child-only" offenses, truants and runaways.

The House passed the bill 84-0 and the Senate is expected to vote on it next week.

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