VA Lawmaker targets us!!!

[amp]

From the Virginia AP...

Legislation would allow trespass charge against reporters

By LARRY O'DELL

Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A state senator has proposed legislation that would allow trespassing charges to be filed against "scuzzball reporters" who enter private property to gather news about a death or other traumatic event.

Although Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli's bill targets journalists, it also could make criminals of virtually anyone else who ventures onto the traumatized person's property - door-to-door salesmen and delivery drivers, for example.

Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, said he plans to amend the bill to make it clear that a friend or acquaintance who drops by would not be trespassing. His goal, he said, is "to keep reporters from bugging people" who are grieving. "There's obviously more than enough scuzzball reporters out there who don't have a shred of human decency to give a flying rat's tail about the condition or feelings or circumstances of these families - they just want a juicy quote from them," Cuccinelli said. "If they are not going to regulate themselves, it's our job to protect the people of Virginia."

Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, said the bill infringes on the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of freedom of the press. "It's a direct attack on First Amendment newsgathering activity," she said.

Cuccinelli disagreed. "Nobody has a right to come onto somebody's property. Show me where that's in the First Amendment," he said.

Under state law, a person can be charged with trespassing only if he's been directly told to stay away or if a sign is posted prohibiting entry to the property. Cuccinelli's proposed amendment to that law, however, would make entry illegal within a week after the resident "suffered a substantial personal, physical, mental, or emotional loss, injury or trauma," provided the visitor knew or should have known about the trauma.

Stanley said that along with the constitutional concerns, the legislation is fraught with practical difficulties. For example, what constitutes a substantial emotional loss? "It could be a child who lost a pet," she said. And, Stanley wondered, is word-of-mouth or a news report about an incident enough to establish that the visitor should have known about the trauma? "There are no parameters or definitions around this," she said.
Cuccinelli said visitors who demonstrate sensitivity have nothing to fear from his bill. "The citizen doesn't have to complain, this just gives them the ability to do it," he said. "People who are being reasonable and conducting themselves in a decent manner, there's no reason you'd expect anyone would be tagged with trespass under those circumstances."

Stacy Ruble of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance said her organization has no position on the bill, but she doesn't believe reporters as a rule are insensitive to crime victims.

"I don't think I'd make that generalization," Ruble said.[/b]

Having covered the Virginia General Assembly, Senator Cuccinelli is an odd duck. I hope this bill gets shot down hard.

[amp]

Here is how you can contact the good senator:


district37@sov.state.va.us

or

Constituent Hotline: (800) 889-0229

[The Mockingbird]

This law won't stand on Constitutional Grounds.

[Sir Dropham Pants]

"Scuzzball." Nice.
I know what a ball is, but what is scuzz exactly?

[The Mockingbird]

Scuzz is most likely a word formed by back formation from the adjective scuzzy, which itself is most likely a combination of the words Scum and Fuzz.
Earliest usage: mid 1960's.

[Consider This]

Originally posted by amp:

Senator Cuccinelli is an odd duck. I hope this bill gets shot down hard.He might be a kook and his proposed law might be unlawful but don't think there isn't support for the idea in the general population if not the General Assembly.

[thenewsleader12345]

I actually agree with this is some terms. I like it. I hate the fact that we have to bother these people and stalk them during the lowest points of their lives.

[News Is Broken]

Go ahead and pass the law. We'll be there at the funeral anyway, hidden mic and all.

[DoneThatToo]

Originally posted by amp:
From the Virginia AP...

Under state law, a person can be charged with trespassing only if he's been directly told to stay away or if a sign is posted prohibiting entry to the property.So all people have to do is make a sign and post it saying 'No Trespassing' and the next reporter who knocks on the door can go directly to jail.

Sounds pretty simple to accomplish with the current law. And is something I will remember if I am ever in that situation . . .

[Clever Login Name]

Does the Senator cite a specific incident that led to this brainstorm of his? Some constituent who complained to him about this kind of treatment? Or did he just get mad while watching an episode of "Law and Order" one night?

[Head Janitor]

Originally posted by happynews:
I actually agree with this is some terms. I like it. I hate the fact that we have to bother these people and stalk them during the lowest points of their lives.You don't have to bother and stalk. You can tactfully approach families and consider their feelings by not being pushy. In my experience, that is the best way. Will you still get screamed at? Yes, that is a possibility. But there is also the possibility that acting with compassion will persuade family members to tell their story.

As for Cuccinelli, he needs to realize that knocking on a door or ringing a doorbell is not trespassing. Hell, one of the reasons we have doors is so people can come in. And I can't think of another reason to have a doorbell other than alerting you that someone wants to talk with you.

Now if a reporter or photog refuses to leave, after being told to go, then that is trespassing.

Calling reporters 'scuzzballs' is very classy. My guess -- and it is only a guess with no proof -- is he has something to hide or had had rough dealings in the past with reporters.

[News Is Broken]

Originally posted by Head Janitor:
My guess -- and it is only a guess with no proof -- is he has something to hide or had had rough dealings in the past with reporters.Maybe he's planning on killing someone and doesn't want the media bugging him about it afterwards. graemlins/eusa_shifty.gif

[amp]

DING DONG! The bill is dead!!


Legislation targeting journalists gets no support

By LARRY O'DELL

Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A state senator was unable to find even one fellow Courts of Justice Committee member to support his bill allowing trespassing charges to be filed against journalists who enter private property to report on a death or other traumatic event.

Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli's motion to send what he called the "scuzzball reporter bill" to the Senate floor failed because of a lack of a second Wednesday after media groups and lawyers raised constitutional and practical concerns.
The harshest criticism, however, came from Democratic Sen. Henry Marsh of Richmond, who bristled at Cuccinelli's suggestion that reporters' attempts to cover stories about personal tragedies frequently "amounts to harassment." Said Marsh: "I never heard of such a gratuitous, wholesale attack on the press."
Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, said his bill was intended to protect the privacy of families in grief. It would have allowed trespassing charges against any stranger who enters private property within a week after the resident suffers a personal trauma that the visitor knew about or should have known about.
Cuccinelli made it clear that the bill targeted the media, although he conceded that "someone doesn't have to be a member of the press to poke their nose in."
Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, asked whether the bill was so broadly drafted that it would allow trespassing charges against a florist delivery driver. "They would need to call ahead, that's all," Cuccinelli said.
Steven Benjamin, a prominent defense attorney who is counsel to the committee, cited a multitude of problems with the legislation. "This bill is unconstitutional - there is no doubt," Benjamin said.
He said the measure infringes on the right of the press to report the news. Even an elected official who suffers some trauma could have a reporter arrested for knocking on his door, Benjamin noted.
Cuccinelli said he was appalled by an incident in which a police officer was killed, and her husband was telling their children about the tragedy while three reporters lurked outside the home's windows. Such behavior "suggests a complete lack of human decency," Cuccinelli said.
Frosty Landon, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said reporters and photographers should be expected to act in a professional manner. "Harassment or misconduct on the part of a journalist should be
censured," he said, but that should come from their bosses, not the government.
Aaron Gilchrist, a Richmond television anchor speaking for the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, said the bill "criminalizes the method by which we gather information." He added: "I assure you, insensitivity is the exception rather than the rule for journalists."
Harvey Bryant of the Virginia Commonwealth's Attorneys Association said that while the prosecutors "are offended and chagrined" by the type of conduct described by Cuccinelli, they oppose the measure for practical reasons. For example, the bill does not clearly define trauma or provide a test for determining
whether the resident knows the visitor, he said.


Thank you Mr. Benjamin! Thank you Aaron Gilchrist!

[The Mockingbird]

Was ANYONE surprised by this?

Last I checked, media relations is key aspect of getting elected. Exactly which politician is going to vote for something that ticks off every journalist universally?

Of course, seeing as how journalists are the first to panic about everything, (SARS, shark attacks, runaway brides, etc.), the panic doesn't completely shock me.

[ZuZu's Petals]

it would be more effective to go directly to the source... and legislate that News Directors, Assignment Editors and Newscast Producers shall not ask a Reporter to approach such a grieving person.

That way even a phone call may be considered trespassing.

[ ]sarcasm font / disabled [ ]

[2:30]

Virginia seems to produce an inordinate number of brain dead politicians...

[News Is Broken]

Originally posted by 2:30:
Virginia seems to produce an inordinate number of brain dead politicians...I think that's because if it's proximity to Washington. graemlins/eusa_shifty.gif

[Spike]

Originally posted by News Is Broken:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by 2:30:
Virginia seems to produce an inordinate number of brain dead politicians...I think that's because if it's proximity to Washington. graemlins/eusa_shifty.gif </font>[/QUOTE]You may jest, but that actually has a lot to do with why Virginia seems to have more than its share of these incidents. Being so close to DC, these local yokels get all fired up about their political careers and the prospects of going across the river to the majors. But to get across the river they have to get their names known. Thus they come up with these idiotic measures they know will attract media attention.

Get out away from DC, and that effect isn't as pronounced. State lawmakers in the midwest, for example, still think of DC as a faraway place. For Virginia lawmakers, it's right there nearby, and they can visit and become inspired almost any time they want.

Cuccinelli will likely come up with some other stupid stunts like this. Then he'll make a run for the US House, where if he wins he'll continually make a fool of himself trying to get noticed for a Senate run, like half those idiots do.

[amp]

I am a conservative. I went to the conservative baptist Liberty University. And I wouldn't vote for Cuccinelli! I was near the fence before this bill, but he has lost me forever.

It's interesting. The better I get to know politicians personally, the more liberal I become. Way too many conservatives are jerks. They are driving me (and many others) away, even when we agree with them politically.