The senate of hawaii passed the so-called Steven Tyler act on Tuesday, a bill that seeks to protect celebrities from overeager paparazzi by creating a civil violation if people take unwanted photos or videos of others in their private moments.
This all came to light when the Aerosmith frontman, who owns a multimillion dollar home in Maui, asked Sen. Kalani English (Tyler's district senator) to sponsor the legislation after unwanted photos were taken of him and his girlfriend last December and published in a national magazine, causing family drama, according to Yahoo.
Twenty-three of the state's 25 Senate members voted in favor of the bill, which now goes to the House for consideration.
"We have been the butt of many editorials and jokes across the country for this proposed legislation," said Sen. Sam Slom, the body's only Republican, opposed the measure, according to Yahoo.
Slom said senators had fun with the bill, but Hawaii has adequate laws protecting privacy and this proposal is an attack on First Amendment rights.
"My final remarks to Steven Tyler as he sang so eloquently are, 'Dream on, dream on,'" Slom joked, according to Associated Press.
Besides Tyler, other celebrities have supported the bill, including Britney Spears, Mick Fleetwood and the Osborne family.
The Senate Judiciary Committee responded to criticism of the measure's vague language by replacing the original version with the text of an existing California anti-paparazzi statute.
But longtime media lawyer Jeff Portnoy said the bill is still problematic.
"It's better, but it doesn't change its fatal flaws," he said. The measure's language is still ambiguous and it is unnecessary, given Hawaii's existing laws, Portnoy said, reported Yahoo.
On the flip side of the coin, national media organizations worry about the proposal's impact on freedom of the press. The National Press Photographers Association and the Society of Professional Journalists were some of several national media organizations that submitted testimony opposing the bill.
"Our only chance to get some sanity is in the House," Portnoy said, stated Yahoo.
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