Certainly you've seen a fair amount of 'photoshopped' images online, especially of political figures and celebs. In fact, some of the most viral images being shared this month are of Beyonce's famously awkward Super Bowl halftime shots. You love those things, right? Well, Georgia State Rep. Earnest Smith doesn't like them at all, and he wants 'shopped' images to be stricken from the internet and made punishable by law! Opposing Views shared the news on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2013.
Smith claims that he had the idea to make 'photoshopping' images illegal when a girl was bullied online last year, but he only came forward with his plans very recently -- and coincidentally after he himself became the butt-end of an online visual meme. Someone superimposed his head on the body of a porn star, apparently he wasn't too happy about the image.
"No one has a right to make fun of anyone. It's not a First Amendment right. This is about being vulgar. We're becoming a nation of vulgar people," said Rep. Earnest Smith.
Be that as it may, the freedom of expression is most certainly a First Amendment right, whether or not that expression is something that everyone finds pleasant. In fact, there is already precedent that further proves that 'photoshopping' is a right, and that precedent comes in the form of citing "satire." Satire is most certainly a constitutionally protected form of art and expression. So what is Smith really going on about? Opposing Views states that the landmark trial involving Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell is an example of parody and "satire" being protected forms of speech.
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