,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ehic  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #b1 #bjae   
,mr4 ,stockman introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform1 and in addition to the        
,committees on ,natural ,resources1     
,agriculture1 and the ,judiciary1 for a 
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
restore the ,first ,amendment ,rights of
 ,photographers4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,ansel ,adams 
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as 
follows3  7#a7 ,in recent years1 the    
,federal ,government has enacted        
regulations to prohibit or restrict     
photography in ,national ,parks1 public 
spaces1 and of government buildings1 law
 enforcement officers1 and other        
government personnel carrying out their 

duties4  7#b7 ,in recent years1         
photographers on ,federal lands and     
spaces have been threatened with seizure
 and forfeiture of photographic         
equipment and memory cards1 and have    
been arrested or threatened with arrest 
for merely recording what the eye can   
see from public spaces4  7#c7 ,even in  
the absence of laws or regulations1     
,federal law enforcement officers1 other
 government personnel1 and private      
contractors have been instructed to     
prohibit photography from public spaces1
 and threatened photographers with      
arrest or seizure of photographic       
equipment4  7#d7 ,arresting             
photographers1 seizing photographic     
equipment1 and requirements to obtain   
permits1 pay fees1 or buy insurance     
policies are abridgments of freedom of  
speech and of the press4  7#e7 ,the     
,first ,amendment of the ,united ,states
 ,constitution states1 ,congress shall  
make no law ''' abridging the freedom of
 speech1 or of the press44  7#f7 ,still 

and motion photographs are speech4  7#g7
 ,the photography by ,ansel ,adams and  
other famous photographers helped bring 
home to ,americans the beauty and       
fragility of our natural resources4     
7#h7 ,ansel ,adams' photographs helped  
build public support to make ,yosemite  
into a ,national ,park4  7#i7 ,future   
,ansel ,adams must not have their paths 
blocked1 regulated and made more        
expensive with fees and fines1 or be    
threatened with arrest and seizure of   
their equipment4  #c4 ,restoration of   
first amendment rights to photographers 
7a7 ,in general ,it is contrary to the  
public policy of the ,united ,states to 
prohibit or restrict photography in     
public spaces1 whether for private1 news
 media1 or commercial use4  7b7 ,should 
a ,federal agency seek to restrict      
photography of its installations or     
personnel1 it shall obtain a court order
 that outlines the national security or 
other reasons for the restriction4 ,such
 court order shall allow restrictions of

 photography when such photography may  
lead to the endangerment of public      
safety or national security4 ,nothing in
 this ,act shall restrict ,federal      
agencies from taking lawful steps to    
ascertain whether or not photography may
 consist of reconnaissance for the      
purpose of endangerment of public safety
 or national security or for other      
unlawful activity4 ,nothing in this ,act
 shall be construed to repeal1          
invalidate1 or supersede section #gie of
 title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4  7c7 
,prohibition on fees1 permits1 or       
insurance ,no ,federal ,government      
agency shall require fees1 permits or   
insurance as a condition to take still  
or moving images on ,federal lands1     
,national ,parks and ,forests1 and      
public spaces1 whether for private1     
media1 or commercial use4  7d7          
,prohibition on the seizure and         
forfeiture of photographic equipment    
,federal law enforcement officers or    
private contractors shall not seize any 

photographic equipment or their contents
 or memory cards or film1 and shall not 
order a photographer to erase the       
contents of a camera or memory card or  
film4  #d4 ,definition ,photography     
means any form or method of capturing   
and recording or transmitting still or  
moving images4