L.A. Promotes Animal Birth Control, Considers A Britney Spears Law 
 Friday, February 15th, 2008

Ah, Los Angeles - such mixed feelings we have for you.  But one wonderful thing has just passed, and one long-overdue law is being proposed.  On Feb. 12th, the Los Angeles City Council passed the largest spay and neuter ordinance in the nation (yes!); and in just weeks, they will be considering a law restricting paparazzi from invading people's privacy, inspired by the media suffocation being inflicted upon one Britney Spears.

As far as the animal law goes, the ordinance was introduced by Councilmember Richard Alarcon and unanimously approved by the Public Safety Committee, and will require all cats and dogs in the city of L.A. to be spayed or neutered of over the age of 4 months unless specifically exempt by law.  The full press release is here in PDF format (requires Adobe Acrobat).  This is an awesome measure to set an example for the rest of the country to address the issue of homeless pets in this country!

Now, as for the proposed paparazzi law, LAPD Reserve officer and Councilman to the LA's 3rd District, Dennis P. Zine is introducing an ordinance to the City Council in L.A. addressing the serious problem paparazzi pose to the public, nicknamed "The Britney Law."

"In addition to being the media capital of the world," the proposed ordinance reads, "Los Angeles is also a center for paparazzi.  In their efforts to get the latest story, those photographers often pose a serious hazard to public safety.  Paparazzi are becoming increasingly aggressive in their tactics, posing a clear danger not only to the people they are trying to photograph, but to the general public around them."

"While the City of Los Angeles must respect the First Amendment rights of the press, the interests of public safety must remain paramount.  Paparazzi swarms are more than a simple inconvenience to celebrities.  On the contrary, these hoards of photographers many times block entrances to vital public service centers such as hospitals and courthouses.  Private enterprise also suffers when paparazzi impeded access to offices, shops, and restaurants."

We think "simple inconvenience" is a major understatement, considering upskirt shots, exposing private moments, going to gravesites and private memorial services...but call it what you want.  Unfortunately there are still viewers that want to buy this crap-for-news, because the media disguises ruining peoples lives as excitement, scandal, build-them-up-to-tear-them-down fodder for the public.

Councilman Dennis J. Zine, 3rd District, L.A. City Council / Wikipedia Commons

The ordinance proposes that a minimum "personal safety zone" of several feet of clear space between paparazzi and the subject of the photograph, including their vehicles.

"This buffer space must be large enough to allow for safe vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow," it specifies.  "Additionally, any existing laws that address the dangerous aspects of paparazzi frenzies, such as reckless driving, must be consistently applied so there is a clear message that the law applies to everyone."

It further requests that the Chief Legislative Analyst report to the Public Safety Committee with a review of comparable ordinances in other jurisdictions that may be similar to those in the motion.

In January, when Britney Spears was taken to the hospital for a highly-publicized episode (outside of her own home), it cost the City of Los Angeles about $25,000 for the police vehicles, ambulances, helicopter, etc. that it took to keep paparazzi at bay (which still didn't work out very well).

Well, this is awesome.  We have urged our readers to boycott Britney Spears news, multiple times, for over a month now (here was our most recent).

Even this measure, though, doesn't seem to be enough.  It has to extend further - hopefully this will influence other cities, and states - because as long as the media is shelling out millions for photos that invade people's right to privacy, there will be photogs willing to break the law to get the money shots (paparazzi are not taking these pictures to hang on their mantle).  This, however, is a brave, brave first step by Councilman Dennis Zine. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has already expressed support of the proposal.


1.  Send a note of thanks here to Councilman Dennis J. Zine for this proposal.  The more letters he has, the more information he will have when this matter is brought before the L.A. Council next month.

2.  It is hard.  It is very hard - but until the public gets angry enough, the media is going to continue to pump this excuse for "news" our way.  So please, if you can, do Britney, other affected celebs, and the general public a favor and teach the media a lesson:  boycott reading Britney Spears news, anywhere, and if there is a media outlet that is excessively publishing information on her private life, boycott them until they change their ways.

This is not just about Britney.  This is about what journalism in America has become.

Comments > >