Governor signs anti-voyeurism bill

By Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser

Gov. Kay Ivey has signed an anti-voyeurism bill.

State. Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, sponsored the legislation that outlaws “upskirting.” The practice captures images up a woman’s skirt or blouse with smart-phone cameras without their consent. The bill would make it a misdemeanor to take an image without a person’s consent, and a Class C felony if the image is taken and then disseminated on social media or adult themed websites.

A misdemeanor has a maximum punishment of a year and a day in the county jail. A Class C Felony has a punishment range of one to 10 years in prison. The bill took two years to get passed out of the Legislature. Chambliss sponsored the bill when he found out no law in Alabama existed that banned the practice.