[Update, Thursday, March 28, 10:50 a.m.: A previous version of this story misstated the vote tally and scope of opposition to LB 1092 among Democrats and Independents in the Nebraska Legislature. This update clarifies those points, and also includes post-publication remarks by state Sen. Megan Hunt.]
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.
The Legislature voted 30-1 in favor of the bill with new amendments, with strong Republican support and only Democratic Sen. Carol Blood voting against it.
Twelve other legislators, mostly Democrats, were present but did not vote, a strategic procedural move intended to ultimately defeat the bill, Legislature sources noted.
Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt, an Independent who describes herself as “a longstanding and quite public supporter of sex workers and sex positivity,” told XBIZ, “There are many reasons to vote ‘present not voting’ instead of a hard no on the first round of debate. It has to do with relationships and preserving the political capital that we need to get other things done this session, such as blocking a crisis pregnancy center bill, blocking a bill to ban trans people from bathrooms coming up next week, etc. All of these votes exist in a bigger picture.”
The bill must now get second- and third-round approval in the Legislature before it can be sent to Gov. Jim Pillen for his signature, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
As XBIZ reported, State Sen. Dave Murman, the Republican legislator behind the bill, has asserted that the bill aims not only to shield minors from adult content but also to “protect women.”
Murman also confirmed that LB 1092 is explicitly modeled after similar legislation passed in Utah, Louisiana and Arkansas, which he called “successful.”
“We’re not trying to do something new here,” Murman said. “We’re trying to do what’s been done in other states.”
Murman has also stated that he would prefer to institute a total ban on adult websites, but that he couldn’t do that “for constitutional reasons.”
LB 1092 would “require adult websites, or third-party companies they contract, to verify that users attempting to access the sites are at least 18 years old through a ‘reasonable age verification method,’ which could include a photo ID or driver’s license or other documentation — such as a credit card statement — that could serve as ‘a reliable proxy for age,’” the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
Lawmakers also amended the bill on Wednesday “to narrow the scope of the age verification requirement to apply only to websites where ‘more than one-third of the total material’ published is ‘harmful,’” the report noted.
During the four-hour debate about LB 1092, Murman attempted to link adult content with violence and mental illness.
Staunchly opposing LB 1092 during the debate, Sen. Blood repeatedly labeled LB 1092 as “a bad bill,” cautioning her colleagues, “Today, you’re gonna pass a bill celebrating how you made it harder for kids to get to paid porn sites while opening up a giant door allowing Nebraskans who are adults to have their data stolen. You forget that most online porn is free, and even available on sites like Twitter.”
Democratic Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha told the Legislature that while the prospect of an age verification bill driving Pornhub out of Nebraska, as similar bills have done in other states, may “sound great,” nevertheless “putting up regulations that act effectively as a ban is problematic.”
“You’re like, ‘Oh, well, the smut peddlers are gone,’” Cavanaugh said. “But the problem with freedom of speech (and) expression is that we have to protect everyone’s right to speak and to express themselves — even the ones we don’t like.”
By contrast, Murman only seemed encouraged by the fact that the site he called “The Pornhub” has pulled out of several states.
“So, apparently, it’s working,” he declared.
Main Image: Nebraska State Sen. Dave Murman (R)