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LegislationLEGISLATION | Detail


H.R. 5566: Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010

Sponsor: Gallegly (D - CA)

Official Title: A bill to amend Title 18, United States Code, to prohibit interstate commerce in animal crush videos, and for other purposes.

Status:
6/22/2010: Introduced in House
6/22/2010: Referred to House Judiciary Committee
6/23/2010: Mark up in the House Judiciary Committee
6/23/2010: Ordered to be reported
7/19/2010: Reported to House
7/21/2010: House passage of amended bill under suspension of rules.
7/22/2010: Received in Senate
8/5/2010: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

Commentary:
This bill replaces H.R. 5092 and is a response to the U. S. Supreme Court’s April 2010 decision in United States v. Stevens, in which the Court found that 18 U.S.C. § 48, which prohibits the commercial creation, sale, or possession of certain depictions of animal cruelty, violated the First Amendment because it was substantially overbroad. The Court noted, among other things, that the reach of § 48 was so broad that it would include depictions of hunting activities. Because the statute applied to depicted conduct that was illegal in any state where the depiction was created, sold, or possessed, the Court also observed that a “depiction of entirely lawful conduct runs afoul of the ban if that depiction finds its way into another State where the same conduct is illegal.” This bill would prohibit the knowing sale or distribution in interstate or foreign commerce of “animal crush videos” and create safe harbors for depictions of veterinary or animal husbandry practices and depictions of hunting, trapping, or fishing. It would apply to depictions of actual conduct that violate a criminal prohibition on cruelty to animals under Federal law “or the law of the State in which the depiction is created, sold, distributed, or offered for sale or distribution.”

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