Senators seek new social networking ban

Associated Press

Tom LoBianco, Associated Press

Updated: Jan 28, 2013 4:44 PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Republican lawmakers are looking for a new way to keep registered sex offenders off social media one week after a federal appeals court found a previous ban unconstitutional.

The proposal would ban Class A felony child molesters and sex offenders convicted of child solicitation from sites such as Facebook.

Republican Sens. Jim Merritt and John Waterman introduced a measure Monday that they say is narrow enough to comply with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. The court found Indiana's 2008 ban violated the First Amendment because it was too broad.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana fought the 2008 measure for a man who served three years for child molestation and other sex offenders no longer on probation.

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