> Taking an unauthorized picture of a defense installation (such as a military base) is a federal misdemeanor offense But what if it isn't? The oft-cited law

> Taking an unauthorized picture of a defense installation (such as a military base) is a federal misdemeanor offense But what if it isn't? The oft-cited law doesn't actually forbid taking photos, rather their improper publication or distribution. The cops stretch "whoever reproduces" to include the taking and saving of a picture onto a memory card, but that is a huge stretch that hasn't properly been hashed out by the courts. Simply seeing something and photographing or sketching it, if standing in a public space, is very likely not a federal crime. "...whoever reproduces, publishes, sells, or gives away any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of the vital military or naval installations or equipment so defined, without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer..." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/797 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/797