Alabama Senate votes to make ‘upskirting’ illegal
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It would be illegal to secretly take video or photos under a person’s clothes – a lewd practice sometimes known as “upskirting” – under a bill passed Thursday by the Alabama Senate. State senators voted 27-0 for the legislation that now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives.
Republican Sen. Clyde Chambliss of Prattville, the sponsor of the bill, said the legislation was inspired by a case in Prattville in which a man, while pretending to browse on a store’s lower shelf, used his phone to secretly film up a woman’s skirt. Chambliss said the man was arrested, but the case was dismissed because the law “does not specifically outlaw that.”
Georgia lawmakers passed a similar bill last year after a court there ruled that upskirting was not illegal. Since introducing the bill, he said he has been contacted by a number of women who have been a victim of upskirting.
“It’s a very emotional issue for them. They feel defiled, invaded of their privacy. … They felt disenfranchised by the law. They didn’t get the justice that they needed,” Chambliss said.