Latest news with #SenateBill394
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Non-profit sues porn sites for alleged Kansas law violation
Video originally aired Jan. 14, 2025. KANSAS (KSNT) – A national non-profit has filed lawsuits against four porn websites for allegedly failing to follow a newly established Kansas law that requires porn sites to verify users age. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation filed the suit against the sites, which 27 News is choosing not to name. The suits claim a Kansas parent found their 14-year-old had been accessing hardcore pornography on various adult websites, according to a news release from the organization. 'Kansas law requires pornography companies to implement reasonable age verification methods, and the companies named in these lawsuits failed to do so,' said Dani Pinter, senior vice president and director of the organization's Law Center. Why are flags to fly at half staff on Thursday in Kansas? Last year, the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature passed Senate Bill 394, which requires websites to have age verification to prevent minors from accessing harmful content. Several other states have enacted age-verification laws since 2022 — Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Utah and Virginia. The Kansas bill makes it a violation of state consumer protection laws for a website to fail to verify that a Kansas visitor is 18 if the website has material 'harmful to minors.' The attorney general may choose to go to court seeking a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation. Parents can also sue for damages of at least $50,000. 'It is unreasonably dangerous for these pornography websites to provide this product which they know is harmful to children, that children are drawn to access, and do access, without employing age verification as required by Kansas law,' Pinter said. 'Our plaintiff deserves every measure of justice.' Petition started to overturn parole for 'cop killer' Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against a company with over a dozen adult websites, alleging it failed to abide by the age verification law. The sites are different than those the non-profit is suing. Kobach's suit hasn't been resolved. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Post-traumatic stress disorder bill draws significant debate in Senate
Senate Bill 394 would allow first responders to receive workers compensation benefits if they are diagnosed with PTSD. A proposal to expand Montana workers' compensation to include post-traumatic stress disorder drew significant debate in the Senate before ultimately passing a second reading, 29-20 to move on to the House. Senate Bill 394, brought by Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, would allow first responders to receive workers compensation benefits if they are diagnosed with PTSD. Much of the debate around the bill focused on its fiscal note and the potential for insurance companies to increase their rates. 'When we pick up that phone and call 911, we expect these people to put their lives and their bodies and their families in harm's way to keep us safe,' Neumann said. 'This is the least we can do.' The American Psychiatric Association defines PTSD as 'a disorder that may result when an individual lives through or witnesses an event in which they believe that there is a threat to life or physical integrity and safety and experiences fear, terror, or helplessness.' Neumann said Montana is one of a handful of states that do not have PTSD as part of its worker compensation legislation. Several members of the Senate shared personal stories about either themselves or family members dealing with traumatic events. Sen. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, told a story about her brother, who in 2012 was a volunteer firefighter in New York. A man set fire to a house on Christmas Eve that year and when firefighters responded, he shot and killed two of them and injured two others. Her brother was called to the scene that day. 'Trust me when I tell you that my brother has PTSD,' Vinton said. 'He cannot participate in family festivities on Christmas Eve anymore. He hasn't been able to ever since then. It's just a sad day. It's a difficult day. And so I have seen this first hand.' Opponents pointed to the fiscal note. The Montana State Fund did an analysis, which was included in the bill. The state fund estimates the change would add an additional $897,795 to the cost of the plan, though some of that would come from insurance carriers. It was estimated by looking at other states that have passed similar legislation. A technical concern was raised in the fiscal note as well, noting constitutional equal protection concerns as first responders would be in their own class. 'All other individuals are prohibited from such benefits for the same diagnosis,' the fiscal note read. 'This would be true even if the non-first responder was diagnosed with PTSD based on events in the course and scope of employment.' Opponents also questioned whether it was the state's responsibility to provide help in this situation. 'I would remind the body that that's not the government's role to take care of everybody,' Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings said. 'I mean, government is not your mama, government is not your daddy.' Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings, who worked with Neumann on an amendment to the bill, mentioned the class issue. He supported the bill and the amendment removed correctional officers from workers compensation claims, which lowered the fiscal note. 'Somebody mentioned that, why should we do this for a special class of people,' Usher said. 'I can tell you it takes a special class of person to actually go, like the last Senator said, and go back to fighting fires. But I can also tell you that it's embedded in these people's hearts to run towards danger, jump between you and danger.'
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Judge resentences gang member who killed Oceanside Police officer
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A gang member who shot and killed an Oceanside Police officer in 2006 was back in court Monday for resentencing due to a recent change in state law affecting juveniles convicted as adults. Steve Bessant, the father of slain Officer Dan Bessant, spoke in court about the deep pain his family continues to endure. 'Our family's loss remains,' he said. 'We've been given life without parole with no possibility of a resentence.' Officer Bessant was gunned down on Dec. 20, 2006, during a traffic stop. His son, who was only two months old at the time, has only known his father through photos and family stories. Man who killed Oceanside police officer up for resentencing Oceanside Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos, who was Officer Bessant's partner at the time, said the loss is still felt throughout the department and the community. 'His death has resonated across all levels of our organization and within the community, leaving a void that can never be filled,' Valdovinos said. Prosecutors said Meki Gaono was just months away from turning 18 when he used a rifle to kill Officer Bessant because he believed police were disrespecting his gang. In 2009, Gaono was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 61 years. However, changes in state law sent his case back to juvenile court, which only handles offenders up to age of 25. That could have resulted in Gaono being released under two years of probation. Instead, a San Diego judge ruled that the now 35-year-old had to remain in adult court and be resentenced, possibly giving him a chance at early parole. Annual Dan Bessant Run honors slain Oceanside police officer Gaono's public defender argued that he had been rehabilitated through prison programs. The judge, after considering his young age at the time of the crime and his rehabilitation efforts, ultimately sentenced him to life without parole plus 51 years. Steve Bessant said the ruling reaffirms the support police officers need. 'When a police officer checks in and gets in their car and goes out for their shift, they need the reassurance that the community backs them and that the legal system backs them too. We saw that today,' he said. Despite the life sentence without parole, California Senate Bill 394, passed in 2018, allows any juvenile convicted as an adult to be eligible for parole after serving 25 years. This means Gaono could go before a parole board in eight years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
