Washington’s state legislature has passed a new law that recognizes the difference between teen sexting and the production/distribution of child pornography; laws intended to address the latter were crafted before smart phone technology was in the hands of virtually every teenager, and are routinely misapplied to prosecute what has become a common means of teen flirtation. The new law would reduce possession of another adolescent’s image to a misdemeanor and therefore not result in placing the teen on the sex offender registry. However, if an image crosses state lines, it becomes the concern of federal law, which carries heavy penalties and remains unchanged.
Contrast this move in the direction of rationality and proportionality with the continuing severity of laws at the other end of the country. In Florida, the age of consent is 18, among the highest in the world: a 20-year old family friend who was involved in an entirely consensual relationship with a 14-year old girl has been sent to prison (and lifetime sex offender registration), despite pleas from both the girl and her family that he not be prosecuted. Punishment should be proportional to the harm done, and when no harm is done, the state should not waste time and money ruining a young man’s life.
