Concerns about “sexting” and cyber abuse are the motivation of recent legislative action by state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing.
Whitmer announced Monday she is developing legislation to address explicit text messages — which could range from inappropriate comments to nude photos — and related problems among young adults. Whitmer called on the Michigan Legislature to hold hearings on how to deal with these issues.
An Associated Press/MTV poll released last week revealed 50 percent of 14 to 24-year-olds have experienced some type of digital abuse and 30 percent have sent or received nude photos online or on a cell phone. Of those, 12 percent who have sexted have considered suicide.
“As a mother of two girls, the emerging danger of digital abuse sickens me, but also strengthens my resolve to tackle the problem head on,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Immediate hearings on this issue will help us develop ways to educate and protect our kids.”
There are few details available about what Whitmer’s legislation would include, but Tom Lenard, spokesman for the Michigan Senate Democrats, said the legislation would educate young people about the dangers of cyber abuse and would develop appropriate penalties and safeguards for these situations.
“Young people just don’t realize how serious the issue is,” Lenard said. “They do something like this and they end up sometimes being prosecuted as adults”
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said there would need to be clarification regarding the penalties and safeguards under this legislation for it to be useful.
Lenard said Whitmer became more concerned about this issue after the bullying of a 13-year-old girl for a racy text message in Florida led to her suicide.
A similar issue occurred in Pinckney, Mich., in October 2008, when a 14-year-old girl texted her nude photo as a joke, and it then was forwarded to about 200 of her peers. The Pinckney case sparked a police investigation.
“Sexuality is getting younger, especially for women,” Lyman Briggs junior Chelsea Gladney said. “Better sex education can help. The abstinence policy only makes kids more curious; more education can prevent confusion.”
East Lansing police Capt. Kim Johnson said there have not been criminal reports of incidents relating to sexting in East Lansing.
Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Republicans said the potential legislation sounds similar to laws already established.
“My guess is the package is trying to help her run for attorney general,” he said. “I’d have to look at the final bills to see what they include.”
Whitmer sent letters to Senate Judiciary and Education Chair Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, and House Judiciary Chair Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, to request committee hearings that would include law enforcement in examining these issues.
Kuipers and Meadows could not be reached for comment.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
