"Sexting" became a household word last year after four Pennsylvania teens were charged with disseminating and possessing child pornography after it was discovered that several students had exchanged nude pictures of themselves via cell phone. A federal court ruled last week that felony child pornography charges could not be pursued in this particular case, but state lawmakers around the country are looking to address the issue by making penalties better fit the "crime" for minors caught sexting.

The Illinois State Senate last week passed a bill that would limit penalties for minors that share nude or sexually explicit photos via cell phone or computer. Doing so would be classified as a misdemeanor, and minors would be sent to juvenile court for counseling and possible community service. "Sometimes these kids don't understand what they're doing, make a mistake, and it follows them for life," state senator Ira Silverstein, who sponsored the bill, told the Chicago Tribune. "So we don't want that in their record."

The bill also does not make it illegal for minors to send or receive such photos to each other, as long as they don't make it into the hands of a third party. "We're not trying to prosecute them if they keep it between themselves," said state representative Darlene Senger, who sponsored a similar bill in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering similar legislation as well. Currently, sexting between minors violates state child pornography laws, but the state legislature's joint judiciary committee is debating a proposed bill that would make the offense a misdemeanor if it occurs between minor children aged 13 and 18 that have "a relationship." That would keep minors convicted of sexting-related charges from being required to register as a sex offender.

Florida is also considering legislation that would classify sexting between minors as a specific crime separate from existing child pornography statutes. First-time minor offenders would merely get a $25 fine and community service, while second-time offenders would get a misdemeanor on their record on top of up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Sexting is "stupid behavior that young people will regret for years to come, but it shouldn't be treated as child pornography," State Senator Dave Aronberg told the Sun Sentinel. "We're trying to make the punishment fit the crime."

So far, 15 states have legislation on the table to address sexting in one form or another. Many states are attempting to specifically add it as a crime as part of cyberstalking or child pornography (when it includes images of minor-aged children) laws. However, several of the laws are attempting to address the issue when it comes to teens engaging in sexting. Some measures encourage adopting programs to educate teens about the dangers of sexting, while others de-criminalize the act as the Illinois, Connecticut, and Florida bills would. Similar measures were passed last year in Utah, Nebraska, and Vermont.

Such sensible approaches were encouraged at a panel discussion organized by the wireless industry and the Family Online Safety Institute last year in the wake of the issues in Pennsylvania. "We have to be very careful about criminalizing these things," Georgia State Senator Don Balfour said during the conference. "Let's not clobber these kids."

A recent Pew study revealed that only 4 percent of teens between 12 and 17 admitted to sending a nude photo of themselves to others via cell phone, while 15 percent said they had received such a photo.