Photography is Not a Crime: B.P. Edition

Over on Thomas Hawk's blog, he's got a post up discussing a recent report of yet more intimidation and harassment of a media photographer, this time in relation to British Petroleum: 

MORE POLICE HARASSMENT FOR THE “CRIME” OF PHOTOGRAPHING BP’S OFFICES

Frankly, the corporate police state is getting more brazen and unapologetic. Every day, another report harassment surfaces of photographers in particular. 

Enough is enough. Photography is not a crime.

Cameras as Guns?

Photo by Gizmodo.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin

 In a recent Gizmodo story, "Are Cameras the New Guns?":

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

This madness has to end. The decade's long assault on our rights, especially those of photographers and citizen journalists, seems to continue unabated and unchallenged. Legislators who seek to infringe on those rights need to hear from us and, should they choose to ignore reality, they should be voted out as soon as possible. Eventually, these cases will reach the Supreme Court; if the Court does its duty and upholds the Constitution of this country properly, these laws and abuses will be overturned. Unfortunately, until such a time, certain elements in government and law enforcement will continue to rob us of rights. 

It should be pointed out, of course, that there are vast numbers of good, qualified, rational law enforcement professionals who don't believe in this movement. Those people are likely being silenced, actively or subconsciously, by superiors and peer pressure. More fear mongering.

Photography is Not a Crime

I don't always agree with the ACLU's stances, but more often than not, I understand the need for their voice to be heard. In this case, it needs to be loud and clear, preferably through a bullhorn. For a decade or more, individuals and governmental organizations have sought to make photography a crime through various channels, most often by limiting access and harassing photographers. It needs to stop. 

Thomas' post has some good information and links on a current case that we can only hope presses through:

http://thomashawk.com/2010/04/hey-u-s-federal-government-photography-is-not-a-crime.html

When I was in Greece a few years ago, wandering the streets of Athens, I had a military officer point an automatic rifle at my face and instruct me to cease and desist from taking photos of the Greek National Bank.

The building on the left behind our group is the National Bank of Greece. Moments after I snapped this, surrounded by our student group, I was instructed in no uncertain terms to stop taking pictures of the building. It was, to say the least, a scary first day in Athens.

We haven't quite gotten that far here in the States (I hope), but it's a powerful lesson to learn:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Ben Franklin