If depictions of animal cruelty are prohibited now, what will be next? Isn it a slippery slope when we start regulating what people can say or photograph?
No. First, this statute is aimed at a narrow class of depictions of activity that is already unlawful. So the depictions law creates no more risk of a slippery slope related to restricting activities than already existed by way of the cruelty laws. In addition, it has always been the case that there are certain classes of depictions or “speech” that are prohibited because of the societal harm that such depictions create, such as child pornography, or other forms of obscenity. Other forms of speech are also illegal—such as speech that incites criminal activity—and yet such prohibitions have not led to additional, unfounded restrictions on speech.
