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As freedom of expression yielded bloodshed in Paris and sent ripples through the worldwide media, the U.S. Congress appears to be one step closer to strengthening First Amendment rights for American citizens. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) introduced the Ansel Adams Act on January 2, one day before he left office. Stockman's act aims to restore rights to American photographers who have been prohibited from taking pictures in national parks, public spaces, and government buildings. The act also protects the Constitutional right to photograph or film police officers and other government employees in the act of duty.
In September, Esquire reported that the U.S. Forest Service sought to fine photographers $1,000 for taking photos across the country's 36 million acres of designated wilderness area without a proper permit. Shortly after stories by Esquire and The Oregonian went viral online, the Forest Service appeared to reverse its plan.
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Weeks later, as nationwide protests erupted over non-indictments of police officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, the notion of videotaping law enforcement officials in the act of duty became a hotly-debated topic nationwide. Stockman's act, in its present incarnation, protects both landscape photographers who document publicly protected wilderness and journalists who document police behavior, both benign and controversial. The bill notes that, in recent years, photographers have been threatened with seizure of cameras or memory cards and have been arrested or threatened with arrest for "merely recording what the eye can see from public spaces." The act states that the requirement of permits, insurance policies, or other fees are "abridgments of freedom of speech and of the press," and are therefore a direct violation of the First Amendment.
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Stockman named the act in honor of the late Ansel Adams because Adams was among a handful of American photographers who captured "the beauty and fragility" of the country's natural resources, and that Adams's photographs, in particular, contributed to the eventual designation of Yosemite as a national park.
The act defines "photography" as "any form or method of capturing and recording or transmitting still or moving images," thus eliminating any backdoor restrictions on future iterations of photographic equipment. The bill currently sits in committee, and, given that it had no co-sponsors at the time of its introduction, it will need to be re-introduced by a member of the new Congress before it can be passed.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to clarify that Rep. Stockman introduced the bill before his last day in Congress, which was January 3, 2015.
Originally published at Esquire.
John Hendrickson is the Deputy Editor of Esquire.com, where he oversees the site's 24/7 news operation as well as all politics coverage.
