Photographer Rights article -ACLU

rkw624

I saw this post on Facebook so I thought I would pass it along. Good read.
http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers

Richard

I moved this to TBP as I think it is of interest to all photographers, not just the street crowd. I think most of us have seen something like this before, though the distinction between video and audio may be new to some. Thanks for posting the link, Rich.

rkw624

Richard wrote: »

I moved this to TBP as I think it is of interest to all photographers, not just the street crowd. I think most of us have seen something like this before, though the distinction between video and audio may be new to some. Thanks for posting the link, Rich.

Thank you!

Angelo

Rich, you beat me to it. Thanks for posting.
I've added a link in the "Photographer's Resources" sticky

.

TUeltzen

Thanks for posting this.

Sam

It is truly a sad day when I must agree with the ACLU. :cry

Sam

rkw624

One of the reasons I posted this was because of personal experience this past summer. To make a long story short I was told by the State Police I was subject to possible arrest for photographing and video taping the public from my own yard. It never happened after two meetings with the police and communication with an elected State Rep. I have been very po'd about the whole situation since. My take on this. Stand up for what's right.

Bendr

Sam wrote: »

It is truly a sad day when I must agree with the ACLU. :cry

Sam

True, True...

On another note... 600 posts! Yay!

rkw624

TUeltzen wrote: »

Thanks for posting this.

Your welcome!

rkw624

TUeltzen wrote: »

Thanks for posting this.

Angelo wrote: »

Rich, you beat me to it. Thanks for posting.
I've added a link in the "Photographer's Resources" sticky

.

Your welcome.

Sam

rkw624 wrote: »

One of the reasons I posted this was because of personal experience this past summer. To make a long story short I was told by the State Police I was subject to possible arrest for photographing and video taping the public from my own yard. It never happened after two meetings with the police and communication with an elected State Rep. I have been very po'd about the whole situation since. My take on this. Stand up for what's right.

Again, unfortunately I agree we must stand up for our rights. If we don't you WILL loose them!

Please note that standing up for your rights doesn't mean being stupid or violent.

Sam

Snowgirl

Anyone know what applies in Canada?

WillCAD

People are paranoid in America. They seem to assume that anyone taking photographs in a public place is either a pervert or a terrorist. Police, in particular, seem to believe that public photography is a suspicious activity in and of itself.

I have never been questioned or hassled or told to cease when taking photos in a touristy spot, such as the places I visit on vacation, major landmarks, or my local favorite, Baltimore's Inner Harbor. But I recently had the, "You can't take photographs of my kids!" experience at a local shopping center, when I wandered around taking photos of the crowd and surroundings during one of their weekly summer concerts (since it's private property, and out of a desire to avoid confrontation that might put me in a bad light with the property owners, I deleted the photo with her kids in it, but the incident left me with a bad taste in my mouth). I often wonder if some people still hold onto the primitive superstition that a photograph somehow steals away part of your soul.

I am particularly infuriated by those instances where police have told people, without any basis in law, that photography of things like critical infrastructure and transportation systems is illegal or restricted, or that photographing or videoing law enforcement officers in the course of their jobs is illegal. One of these issues was recently settled in a Maryland court; a man videotaped his interaction with a police officer and was charged under Maryland's wiretapping statute, which requires all-party consent for audio recording, and the court ruled that this law does not prohibit audio and video recording of LEOs engaged in their jobs in a public place.

I recently corresponded with officials in the Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and Maryland Attorney General's Office, on the subject of photography and videography in Maryland's airports (specifically BWI). After a lot of back-and-forth, I have established that photography and videography is not prohibited in public areas of BWI, but I was also somewhat disturbed by the hemming and hawing I got from both the MDTA Police and the Assistant Attorney General who is assigned to advise the MDTAP, both of whom stated that police mayl approach and question people who are engaged in photography and videography. They both seem to regard such imaging activities as suspicious behavior for some reason, an idea of which I tried my best to disabuse them without becoming confrontational or adversarial. I intend to engage in some photography and videography in the airport on my next trip; we'll see if I get hassled. I have photographed the airport before without incident.

Sam is right - if we don't stand up for our rights, we WILL lose them.

DavidTO

One of my favorite shows, On The Media had a recent episode about the impact of 911 on the media, and had a segment on Arbitrary Restrictions on Photographers.

rkw624

DavidTO wrote: »

One of my favorite shows, On The Media had a recent episode about the impact of 911 on the media, and had a segment on Arbitrary Restrictions on Photographers.

This is a great article. Thank you for posting this.

Angelo

Sam wrote: »

It is truly a sad day when I must agree with the ACLU. :cry

Sam

that reminds me of a fantastic section of script from the movie "The American President" starring Michael Douglas as President Shepard...



REPORTER #4 Robin, will the President ever respond to Senator Rumson's question about being a member of the American Civil Liberties Union? But instead of hands going up, the PRESS CORPS suddenly stands. ROBIN turns to see SHEPHERD stride in and step up to the podium. SHEPHERD Yes, he will. 'Morning. ROBIN Good morning, Mr. President. SHEPHERD takes the podium. There's a palpable BUZZ in the room as video operators adjust their equipment, etc. People starts to stand. SHEPHERD That's all right, you can keep your seats. For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character... (snip) SHEPHERD ...and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. LEWIS enters with A.J. and KODAK. SHEPHERD (continuing) For the record: Yes, I am a card- carrying member of the A.C.L.U. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? This is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the questions. SHEPHERD (continuing) Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for president, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, then, folks, you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. Everybody knows American isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. SHEPHERD (continuing) You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free. I've known Bob Rumson for years. I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. SHEPHERD (continuing) Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it. Nobody has ever won an election by talking about what I was just talking about. SHEPHERD (continuing) This is a country made up of people with hard jobs that they're terrified of losing. The roots of freedom are of little or no interest to them at the moment. We are a nation afraid to go out at night. We're a society that has assigned low priority to education and has looked the other way while our public schools have been decimated. We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious men to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: Making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle- income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and personal character. Then you have an old photo of the President's girlfriend. You scream about patriotism and you tell them she's to blame for their lot in life...

(snip)

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

.
</pre>

rkw624

Makes you think about a lot of issues doesen't it?

Angelo wrote: »

that reminds me of a fantastic section of script from the movie "The American President" starring Michael Douglas as President Shepard...



REPORTER #4 Robin, will the President ever respond to Senator Rumson's question about being a member of the American Civil Liberties Union? But instead of hands going up, the PRESS CORPS suddenly stands. ROBIN turns to see SHEPHERD stride in and step up to the podium. SHEPHERD Yes, he will. 'Morning. ROBIN Good morning, Mr. President. SHEPHERD takes the podium. There's a palpable BUZZ in the room as video operators adjust their equipment, etc. People starts to stand. SHEPHERD That's all right, you can keep your seats. For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character... (snip) SHEPHERD ...and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. LEWIS enters with A.J. and KODAK. SHEPHERD (continuing) For the record: Yes, I am a card- carrying member of the A.C.L.U. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? This is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the questions. SHEPHERD (continuing) Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for president, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, then, folks, you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. Everybody knows American isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. SHEPHERD (continuing) You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free. I've known Bob Rumson for years. I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. SHEPHERD (continuing) Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it. Nobody has ever won an election by talking about what I was just talking about. SHEPHERD (continuing) This is a country made up of people with hard jobs that they're terrified of losing. The roots of freedom are of little or no interest to them at the moment. We are a nation afraid to go out at night. We're a society that has assigned low priority to education and has looked the other way while our public schools have been decimated. We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious men to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: Making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle- income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and personal character. Then you have an old photo of the President's girlfriend. You scream about patriotism and you tell them she's to blame for their lot in life...

(snip)

<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

.


</PRE>

ThatCanonGuy

Sam wrote:

It is truly a sad day when I must agree with the ACLU. :cry

+1.

As photographers, we also have a right to...

rkw624 wrote:

Your welcome!

Sam wrote:

If we don't you WILL loose them!

... misspell words!