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Unbelievable
May 9, 2002
By Kilroy Chung, Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO -- California State Senator Don Horata (D-Alameda) proposed a new
law that would ban a large numbers of high-end consumer digital cameras in
California.
"We need to start thinking about the children. Before, if someone wanted to
take photos exploiting children, they would have to either develop the
photos themselves or take it to a lab, but with the widespread proliferation
of digital cameras, child pornographers can process the photos in their own
home and peddle the photos over the Internet.
"Simple point-and-shoot cameras should be enough. These advanced cameras
must be kept out of the hands of civilians, as they have no purpose other
than to exploit children. Who needs a Canon D30 to go to a birthday party?"
Cameras that will be banned must have a detachable Compact Flash card and at
least one of the following: optical zoom of 2x or higher, manual exposure,
aperture controls, and white balance. Furthermore, Compact Flash memory
cards with a capacity of 10 megabytes or more will also be banned.
"No honest man needs more than a 10 Megs, and I never intended for simple
civilians to have manual exposure controls on my cameras," stated Bill
Kruger, the president of Sturm-Kruger Cameras, who supports the ban.
However, Kruger's digital camera, the Digi-14, will be specifically exempt
from the ban.
Photography enthusiasts have already begun to protest. "This law would make
amateur photographers felons and would be a direct attack on the First
Amendment," they complained, to which Senator Horata remarked, "They should
just move to Texas."
Amateur photographers have attempted to recruit the help of the American
Civil Liberties Union, which denied the request, stating that the wording of
the First Amendment is ambiguous and does not actually guarantee the right
to own and use a high-end digital camera.
By Kilroy Chung, Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO -- California State Senator Don Horata (D-Alameda) proposed a new
law that would ban a large numbers of high-end consumer digital cameras in
California.
"We need to start thinking about the children. Before, if someone wanted to
take photos exploiting children, they would have to either develop the
photos themselves or take it to a lab, but with the widespread proliferation
of digital cameras, child pornographers can process the photos in their own
home and peddle the photos over the Internet.
"Simple point-and-shoot cameras should be enough. These advanced cameras
must be kept out of the hands of civilians, as they have no purpose other
than to exploit children. Who needs a Canon D30 to go to a birthday party?"
Cameras that will be banned must have a detachable Compact Flash card and at
least one of the following: optical zoom of 2x or higher, manual exposure,
aperture controls, and white balance. Furthermore, Compact Flash memory
cards with a capacity of 10 megabytes or more will also be banned.
"No honest man needs more than a 10 Megs, and I never intended for simple
civilians to have manual exposure controls on my cameras," stated Bill
Kruger, the president of Sturm-Kruger Cameras, who supports the ban.
However, Kruger's digital camera, the Digi-14, will be specifically exempt
from the ban.
Photography enthusiasts have already begun to protest. "This law would make
amateur photographers felons and would be a direct attack on the First
Amendment," they complained, to which Senator Horata remarked, "They should
just move to Texas."
Amateur photographers have attempted to recruit the help of the American
Civil Liberties Union, which denied the request, stating that the wording of
the First Amendment is ambiguous and does not actually guarantee the right
to own and use a high-end digital camera.
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