In May, “the New York Court of Appeals…ruled that viewing child pornography is legal.” This month, New Yorkers and citizens across America responded in shock and outrage that such a loophole in state law exists.

As of this week, there is good news! New York governor Andrew Cuomo and leaders of the Senate and Assembly have agreed on a bill that will make illegal the viewing of any online child pornography.

Current “New York state law bans only possession and distribution of child pornography,” which does not take into account video streaming or other Internet advances that don't require download or printing. The new bill “would make it a felony crime to ‘knowingly access' child pornography ‘with the intent of viewing,' mirroring language in federal law.”

Thus, no more loophole. That's a relief!

Referring to this change, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol said, “When it comes to protecting children, we can't allow loopholes in the law.”

As the bill is expected to pass before the end of this week's legislative session, we're glad that lawmakers agree that viewing child pornography is akin to supporting it.

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