Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Thumbs up, thumbs down
"Stalkerazzi" bill imperils free press
Thumbs down to Pete Wilson, who signed legislation last
Wednesday that allows celebrities or crime victims to recover
damages and sue members of the media who invade their privacy by
"trespass(ing) with the intent to capture images of a celebrity
engaging in a personal or family activity."
Besides the law’s infringement on First Amendment free press
rights, the new definition of invasion of privacy gives celebrities
special privileges even though public figures relinquish certain
privacy rights when they choose to go public. Laws already exist
which protect all people, not just celebrities, from an invasion of
privacy.
Religion curtailed
in jails
Thumbs down to Pete Wilson for vetoing the Religious Freedom
Protection Act, which would reduce restrictions on religious
practices made by prisons and other state agencies. Wilson’s belief
that prisoners and criminal defendants would abuse the measure,
creating unnecessary lawsuits by claiming religious freedom, cannot
be paramount to the prisoners’ unalienable rights.
Prisoners who practice the Islamic and Sihk faiths, as well as
some Christians, have been forced to compromise their beliefs while
incarcerated, unable to pray five times daily or keep hair unshorn
and in a turban.
The constitution guarantees religious freedom; Governor Wilson
shouldn’t stand in its way.
Bongwater beer banned
Thumbs down to the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (ATF) for banning Olde Bongwater Hemp Porter, made by the
Kettlehouse micro-brewery.
The ATF said that Kettlehouse owner Tim O’Leary cannot make the
beer because the name might send the wrong message to young people,
who could associate the beer with marijuana.
The ATF should not be allowed to unilaterally restrict messages
just because youth "might" misinterpret them. If ATF’s area of
expertise is in alcohol, tobacco and firearms, they should stand
clear of legislating and controlling messages.
Act increases student
safety
Thumbs up to the 1998 Higher Education Act which may improve
campus security.
Measures in the bill include: greater public access to police
logs and student disciplinary records in cases of criminal
offenses, University requirements to report statistics of crimes
that occur on-campus and in nearby areas, and grants to reduce
binge-drinking, drug offenses and violence against women on
campus.
By increasing accessibility to information, such as near-campus
crime, universities can shift their emphasis away from
image-consciousness towards student safety.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents a majority opinion of the Daily
Bruin Editorial Board. Please
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© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board