Georgia Appeals Court Rules That Taking Upskirt Pictures Isn't Technically Illegal
AJC – The lewd practice of “upskirting” — the surreptitious videotaping of a person’s private parts in a public place — cannot be prosecuted as a crime in Georgia, the state’s Court of Appeals has ruled. The court recently arrived at that conclusion when overturning an invasion-of-privacy conviction against former grocery clerk Brandon Lee Gary, who took videos up a woman’s skirt while she was shopping. The Georgia court found, as have other courts across the nation, that decades-old laws simply did not envision criminal acts committed with modern technology. “It is regrettable that no law currently exists which criminalizes Gary’s reprehensible conduct,” Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote for a 6-3 majority. “… The remedy for this problem, however, lies with the General Assembly, not this court.”
The ruling throws out the felony conviction against Gary, 24, who in June 2013 used his cell phone to take videos from under a woman’s skirt as she walked the aisles of a Publix in Houston County. According to court records, the woman, while getting milk, first noticed Gary bending down behind her as if he were tying his shoe. Even though that made the woman feel uncomfortable, she talked with Gary about an item she was looking for. On another aisle, as the woman grabbed an item off a shelf, she turned around and saw Gary bending down behind her again, this time with his cell phone out and its camera pointed up under her skirt.
The upset shopper left the store but soon returned and complained to the store’s manager. A review of the Publix security camera showed that Gary aimed his phone’s camera underneath the woman’s skirt at least four times as she walked the aisles. Gary was indicted six months later, was eventually convicted and sentenced to five years on probation. Gary’s lawyer, public defender Michael Rivera, said the appeals court reached the right decision. “While what Mr. Gary did was objectionable, there’s not a law on the books that outlaws this specific act,” he said. “This case is a testament to the Court of Appeals interpreting a law the way it was written and not engaging in judicial intervention.”
Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of thousands of Japanese men booking flights to Atlanta. Obviously we’ve got a few of our own social misfits here in the states, but if a google image search is any indication, Japan’s #1 export is upskirt photos. They’re probably packing up their toe mounted go-pros and polishing their shoe mirrors right now. Then it’s time to head east and then way down south because the state of Georgia is officially a safe haven for the upskirt community. Forget having the ’96 Olympics. This is how you boost the economy. I’d love to be a travel agent (is that still a real job?) right now.
I will say that I understand the judges’ ruling. Technically there’s no law in Georgia that says you can’t photograph people from certain angles in public when they’re wearing certain pieces of clothing. That’s a Jimbo on the Georgia lawmakers’ parts. The state didn’t pivot quite fast enough to tackle the upskirt photo phenomenon that’s been around since like the 1990’s. Whoops-a-daisy. I’m also pretty sure there’s some Georgia law from the 1800’s that says blowjobs and anal are still illegal in the state so maybe they can get rid of that one and get an upskirt law on the books so we can get up to 21st century speed on sexual deviancy.
Speaking of skirts, I wore a kilt for a William Wallace costume once. Skirts are comfortable as fuck. The whole male populace could do with a little breeze down there. Cases of swamp ass would be decimated. For overweight guys, thigh chafing would become a thing of the past. Think of the switch from tighty whities to boxers. It’s kind of like that. Liberating. But along with all of those benefits comes having your junk or underwear exposed to the world from certain angles. Granted, there’s nobody down there usually and I can count the number of people who want to see my dick on one hand. But technically there’s nothing stopping anybody from checking out your undercarriage other than the fear of a swift kick. Just a really weird feeling. That’s why I can’t even imagine being a hot chick walking around with a skirt on. Guys are gross. We want to see everything. I’m pretty sure the most common Tinder pickup line right after “hey” is “send me a pic of ur butthole”. Frankly, I think we’ve got the genders backwards on who wears skirts simply because so many dudes are willing to become social pariahs just to glimpse some taint. I’m not sure how we got here. Somehow our clothes got swapped in the laundry at some point in history.
P.S. How much is this thing?
Asking for a friend