L.A. councilman seeks to protect celebrities from paparazzi

Posted on November 20, 2008
Filed Under Celebrities, Laws, Los Angeles, Paparazzi |

Paparazzi and celebrities go together like the beach and seagulls, lots of people like the beach, but seagulls aren’t so great.  A city councilman in Los Angeles is trying to pass new laws to both protect celebrities from having their rights violated, and make places like school zones safer for the general public.

Much ado was made when celebrities such as Julia Roberts were followed by the paparazzi to her child’s school.  Ms. Roberts went so far as to confront the paparazzi and try to get them to leave.  Unfortunately, few, if any, are standing up for the first amendment rights of the paparazzi in this instance.   Most people enjoy the celebrity Websites and glossy magazines that show the latest fashion, but in a public debate between fifty photographers and Brad Pitt, the public will usually side with the megastar.

The new law seeks to curb the actions of the paparazzi; celebrities could drop their children off at school and visit their doctors without fear of being accosted by paparazzi under a proposal introduced by a Los Angeles city councilman this week.

The proposed law, the latest effort by Councilman Dennis Zine to combat aggressive tabloid photographers, would restrict commercial photography and video recordings within 20 feet of schools, hospitals and medical facilities.

Earlier this year, the councilman proposed a “personal safety zone” around celebrities, but that effort stalled after the Los Angeles Police Department called it unnecessary and unenforceable.

Zine said legal experts have signed off on the constitutionality of his current proposal.  The ordinance would not prohibit paparazzi from using long lenses.  “You can make it 200 feet. With a lens, it doesn’t matter,” said Frank Griffin of the Bauer-Griffin photo agency.

Paparazzi have been flocking to places such as LAX recently, where as many as 70 celebrities pass through the airport each day, but most go undetected by the half a dozen photographers who wait outside the airport for tips from publicists and paid sources.

Police intervention was required only twice this year for confrontations between paparazziand famous subjects. In September, rapper Kanye West and his road manager were arrested after an altercation with paparazzi as he arrived for a flight. Two months before that, photographers surrounded a vehicle taking Britney Spears away from a terminal.

Written by Joe M

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