We live in an electronic age that is growing and expanding every day.  Just over a decade ago, a cell phone or laptop computer were expensive luxuries that most families could not afford.  Now, it is estimated that 78% of teens have a cell phone and 93% have access to a computer and internet (pcsndreams.com).  With this boom in electronic devices comes many positives and many dangers.  One of the newest crazes among adolescents is sexting which is when a person takes a flirtatious, nude or semi-nude picture of their self and sends it to others through their cell phone or other means of texting device.  This may seem just like an innocent teen trend, but there are hidden dangers for our children. 

Statistics indicate that approximately 70% of teens have sent sexting messages, 15% of teenagers have sent images to someone they only knew online and 12% of females feel pressured to send nude pictures (pcsndreams.com).

Currently there are laws that make it illegal for adults to possess pictures of nude children, but there are no laws that punish adolescents who prey on other adolescents.  Kansas House Bill 2018 will create  new crimes of

• unlawful transmission of a visual depiction of a child
• aggravated unlawful transmission of a visual depiction of a child
• unlawful possession of a visual depiction of a child

All three laws will address when the offender in less than nineteen and the victim is twelve or older.  Kansas House Bill 2018 will protect our children from becoming victims in a way that could affect their entire future and needs to be passed by the Kansas Legislature.  Please sign this petition to let the Kansas Legislation know that you support protecting our youth and want them to pass Kansas House Bill 2018.  For more information on this bill please visit the link below:

http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2015_16/measures/hb2018/