The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression issued a statement yesterday saying it was concerned about a newly passed law banning so-called “crush” videos. President Obama signed the bill last week and it replaces a law that had been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds that it violated the First Amendment. ABFFE and other media groups filed friend of the court briefs the supported striking down the old law. "Booksellers are unlikely to carry any material that runs afoul of the law, but it could still cause free speech problems," ABFFE president Chris Finan said.
The new law bans the distribution of images of the intentional inflicting of actual harm on animals if they meet the legal test for obscenity. In addition, the law exempts depictions of hunting, fishing and trapping, normal veterinary or agricultural husbandry practices, and the slaughter of animals for food. While ABFFE said it doesn't oppose the effort to outlaw crush videos, it is concerned by the application of obscenity law to depictions of violence, fearing that it could erode the clear line between hardcore sexual material that can be banned and material with violent content that may not be restricted. Without such a line, ABFFE said, there is a danger that the fear of prosecution will have a chilling effect on the sale of constitutionally protected works.
