10.12.2005

Poorly Written Law

A story has been broadcast over the last couple of days about a man who took "inappropriate" pictures of females at an Octoberfest in Southlake. Look closely at the story. The pictures were taken in public. There is no allegation that he took their photographs as they were in a state of undress in, say, a private bathroom. Here's the goofy Texas statute at issue - Penal Code § 21.15: A person commits an offense if the person photographs . . . another without the person's consent and with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. That, my friends, is a State Jail Felony. So if I take a picture of a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader because she, uh, "jazzes" me, I've committed a felony in Texas?