The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010, , was a United States bill that addressed the banning of depictions of

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

to satisfy a

crush fetish A crush fetish is a Sexual fetishism, fetish and a paraphilia in which sexually aroused, sexual arousal is associated with observing objects being crushed or being crushed oneself. The crushed objects vary from inanimate items (e.g., food), to inj ...

. The bill, , was introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly ( R- CA), and primarily modified . The law was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in USA v Richards.

Background

The act revised the version of 18 U.S.C. § 48 that had entered into effect on December 9, 1999, which had been ruled an

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

abridgment of the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

right to freedom of speech by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. The previous law, placed into effect by , aimed at banning the

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

, sale, and ownership of so-called " crush videos", which are films that feature a person or another animal crushing or trampling another smaller animal to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was too vague and broad in '' United States v. Stevens'', and, in an 8–1 decision, it ruled unconstitutional the 1999 law.Adam Liptak
Justices Reject Ban on Videos of Animal Cruelty
April 20, 2010, The New York Times.

References

{{reflist Acts of the 111th United States Congress Cruelty to animals Foot fetishism