Massachusetts Legislature Approves Ban On Upskirt Photos

Newly-elected Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chambers at the Statehouse in Boston, Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Murray succeeded Robert Travaglini as president of t... Newly-elected Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chambers at the Statehouse in Boston, Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Murray succeeded Robert Travaglini as president of the Massachusetts Senate on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to lead a legislative body in the state. Murray, a Plymouth Democrat who chaired the budget-setting Senate Ways and Means Committee, now holds one of the three most powerful political positions in state government. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) MORE LESS
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The Massachusetts legislature on Thursday approved a measure that would ban taking upskirt photos in public after a court ruled that a state law did not already prohibit such photography, according to the Boston Globe.

The bill sped through both the house and senate just one day after the ruling, and is now headed to Gov. Deval Patrick’s (D) desk for signing.

“It is sexual harassment. It is an assault on another person…women and children should be able to go to public places without feeling like they are not protected by the law,” Senate President Therese Murray told reporters following the vote, according to the Globe.

In the decision on Wednesday, the court said that current Massachusetts criminal voyeurism law only applies to people nude or partially nude who are in private.

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