"First Degree Felony Photography"....

[regnaD kciN]

Photograph a farm, go to jail for thirty years? Here's an insane bill proposed by a Republican (of course) in Florida. (A similar bill is pending in Iowa as well.)

:crazy:

[NV Whino]

1. Here's the key phrase

"Wilton Simpson, a farmer who lives in Norman’s district, said the bill is needed to protect the property rights of farmers and the “intellectual property” involving farm operations. Simpson, also said the law would prevent people from posing as farmworkers so that they can secretly film agricultural operations."

Any factory farms in florida?

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Yes, sorta

Horrible tales of large produce farms literally kidnapping foreign workers, taking away their passports, forcing them to work in large orchards/produce farms, keeping them locked in at night in barracks, etc.
film of that would go well with the few stories that have been printed.

Much as the turpentine farmers in Fla. used to hire prisoners, keep them in forced servitude, miles away from town in deep forests.

[Solly Mack]

7. I think that's exactly why the ban...treatment of workers.

[CC]

3. Florida has a long

history of doing things that are/should be illegal, immoral and wrong when it came to farming. Most involving the treatment of the workers. If you are going to treat people worse that an animal imagine how bad they are to animals. Flalala also has a long history of certain politicians making it easier for said acts to happen without fear of consequences.

[ManiacJoe]

4. The current bill's text is a bit more sane.

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/1246/BillText/c1/HTML

Trespassing + photography = misdemeanor

[handmade34]

5. I was threatened

with confiscation of my camera and police when I was "caught" last year taking pictures of a refinery near New Orleans... I was sitting at the side of the road when security accosted me... :yoiks:

it's a crazy world, folks

[JohnnyRingo]

6. "Assault with a flashgun specification?"

I have friends who are rail enthusiasts. They have horror stories about what railroad "bulls" do when they catch them photographing trains. The rail right-of-way is like a foreign land, and they have their own rules for enforcement when they spy a trespasser. It's ironic the rules on photography are tightening at the same time surveillance cameras are becoming more common.

Some of the most beautiful images in the world are taken by these train people, and combat pay isn't included: