Senate Passes Bill Penalizing Fight Videos of Minors Online

A bill that would make it a crime to record a fight involving a minor and then upload onto the Internet has passed the Oklahoma Senate unanimously.

Tuesday, March 9th 2010, 3:25 pm

By: News 9


By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A bill that would make it a crime to record a fight involving a minor and then upload onto the Internet has passed the Oklahoma Senate unanimously.

Sen. Earl Garrison of Muskogee said to be guilty of the misdemeanor offense the person responsible for recording and uploading the video would have to have advance knowledge that a fight was brewing.

The fight between two girls briefly put the town of Wayne in Garvin County on the map and on YouTube. Shelly Scott, whose daughter appeared in the Wayne school fight on YouTube, likes the idea behind the bill.

"I think that would maybe teach some of these teenagers a lesson," Scott said. "I was just humiliated, me and my daughter. She's having a hard time at school since all this happened. She doesn't want to go to school. As a matter of fact she says she wants to switch schools because of the bullying at the school over the video."

A violation of Senate Bill 1981 would mean a maximum fine of $750. Senator Garrison, the bill's sponsor, said it's important to deter these acts.

"The idea is to discourage this kind of behavior before some child gets seriously injured or killed," Sen. Garrison said.

The bill now goes to the Oklahoma House.

Wayne police investigated the fight in their town and then turned the matter over to the juvenile courts.

More on News9.com: Wayne Students' Fight Video Makes Rounds on Web

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