Thought you still had the First Amendment? Not in Ohio...

The MPAA wants to make it illegal (in Ohio) to use a recording device if a movie is being shown. At first glance, this seems a reasonable thing -- they're trying to fight people who bring camcorders into movie theaters, right? But that's not all. The law doesn't just apply to camcorders in movie theaters, but anywhere a movie is being shown. Including, say, in a store selling both TVs and cameras. And it gets better. The law includes an arrest power for the owner of the establishment. But wait, there's more! The first offense is a misdemeanor; the next one is a felony.

You heard that right, folks. Over a year of hard time for turning on a camera where a movie is being shown.. whether or not you recorded some or all of the movie.

The way I see it, everyone has a right to record -- and to share, for that matter -- anything that their eyes and ears take in. People will pay for a better experience for their own eyeballs than the second-hand view from someone else's. Unless, that is, your product is overpriced in the first place. Like, say, most movies?