I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5566 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 22, 2010 Mr. Gallegly (for himself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Djou, Mr. Castle, Mr. Dent, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Kilroy, Mr. Harper, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Jones, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Crenshaw, Ms. Kosmas, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Royce, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Culberson, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Camp, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Carney, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Ms. Berkley, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Sutton, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Coble, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. Calvert, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Carter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Cole, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Mica, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. Speier, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Duncan, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Filner, Mr. Upton, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mrs. Biggert, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Alexander, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Schock, Mr. Latta, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Heller, Mr. Latham, Mr. Akin, Mr. Linder, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Lee of New York, Mr. Welch, Mr. Farr, Mr. Quigley, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Terry, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Mr. Kingston, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Coffman of Colorado, Mr. Engel, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Austria, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Posey, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Holt, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Israel, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. Kissell, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Lance, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Fudge, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Carnahan, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Holden, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Olson, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Teague, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Bonner, Mr. Tiberi, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Clay, Mr. Hare, Mrs. Dahlkemper, Mr. Cleaver, Mrs. Davis of California, Mrs. Bono Mack, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Cao, Mr. Young of Florida, Ms. Fallin, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Maffei, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Honda, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Paulsen, Ms. Chu, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Perriello, Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Visclosky, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Andrews, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Mr. Oberstar, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Costello, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Payne, Ms. Titus, Mr. Towns, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Walz, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Guthrie, Ms. Linda T. Sánchez of California, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Goodlatte, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Wu, Mr. Kirk, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Polis of Colorado, Mr. Cantor, Mrs. Capps, and Mr. Inslee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit interstate commerce in animal crush videos, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010.

2.

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)The Federal Government and the several States have a compelling interest in preventing animal cruelty. (2)Each of the several States and the District of Columbia criminalize intentional acts of animal cruelty. (3)The clandestine nature of certain acts of animal cruelty allows the perpetrators of such crimes to remain anonymous, thus frustrating the ability of Federal and State authorities to enforce the criminal statutes prohibiting such behavior. (4)These criminal acts constitute an integral part of the production of and market for so-called crush videos and other depictions of animal cruelty. (5)The creation and sale of crush videos provide an economic incentive for, and are intrinsically related to, the underlying acts of the criminal conduct. (6)The United States has a long history of prohibiting the interstate sale of obscene and illegal materials. (7)Animal crush videos appeal to the prurient interest and are obscene.

3.

Animal crush videos

(a)

In general

Section 48 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

48.

Animal crush videos

(a)

Prohibition

Whoever knowingly and for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain sells or offers to sell, or distributes or offers to distribute, an animal crush video in interstate or foreign commerce shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. (b)

Rule of construction

Subsection (a) does not prohibit the sale, distribution, or offer for sale or distribution, of any visual depiction of— (1)customary and normal veterinary or agricultural husbandry practices; or (2)hunting, trapping, or fishing. (c)

Definitions

In this section the term animal crush video means any obscene photograph, motion-picture film, video recording, or electronic image that depicts actual conduct in which one or more living animals is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, or impaled in a manner that would violate a criminal prohibition on cruelty to animals under Federal law or the law of the State in which the depiction is created, sold, distributed, or offered for sale or distribution.

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The item relating to section 48 in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 48. Animal crush videos. .