The Ansel Adams Act
The United States government is very complex and constantly changing – since the 114th Congress convened on January 3, 2015, 1,757 new bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives and 911 have been introduced in the Senate. The Library of Congress has the complete list of bills introduced in 114th Congress.
With so many bills being introduced all the time in Congress, it is interesting to see the wide array of topics that our government is currently concerned with. There are more prominent issues that are being presented in bills such as:
- the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014
- the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014
- the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014
- the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014
Aside from these larger issues that people are more familiar with, there are smaller initiatives such as to push for an increase in the standards of school lunch programs. Many of these smaller, less global acts go through Congress without too much public knowledge due to media effects – only a certain number of issues can exist in the media arena at a certain time.
One smaller act that struck my attention was the “Ansel Adams Act.” This was introduced into Congress to restore the first amendment rights of photographers. Before stumbling upon this act, I had no idea that the rights of many photographers were restricted, especially when it came to photography in National Parks and in public spaces. Photographers were also being restricted when they tried to take photographs of government buildings, law enforcement officers, and other government personnel. Some photographers have been forced to handover their photography equipment and/or memory cards for simply trying to photograph scenes that are available to the public eye.
The purpose for these restrictions was to increase national security and public safety; however, photographs are classified as a form of speech. By confiscating or prohibiting photographers from taking photos, these regulations are essentially restricting photographers’ right to the First Amendment – freedom of speech.
The act gets its name from photographer Ansel Adams who used his photography to promote conservation of wilderness areas. Born in 1902, Adams and other prominent photographers of the time were able to show many Americans the beauty of our nation’s natural resources. Adams work in specific helped Yosemite become a National Park. The act states that “future “Ansel Adams” must not have their paths blocked, regulated and made more expensive with fees and fines, or be threatened with arrest and seizure of their equipment.”
Photographers can send powerful messages through their images and can actually have great influence over the many Americans. What is a news story without images to accompany it? We do not want to limit this powerful, and sometimes underrated, form of speech. The act accounts for the fact that some photographs may be considered a breach of national security; however, nothing in this act can invalidate or supersede other acts that allow Federal Agents to determine whether or not certain photographs are against national security. The final goal of this act is to simply stop Federal Agents from restricting photography in public spaces, whether for private, news media, or commercial use.
I think it is interesting to hear about wide variety of topics currently being discussed in the political sphere. I also like how the full text of bills are available online so that we have the opportunity to learn about all the initiatives that are currently being discussed. If you are curious to explore what other bills are currently being introduced into Congress, I suggest exploring congress.gov.
To read the full text of the act: Ansel Adams Act
To learn more about Ansel Adams: Ansel Adams Biography
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