Any opinions on the "Crash a Hollywood Party Go to Jail" bill?

[howaboutme]

The bill is being pushed by the Screen Actors Guild and a Pasadena Assemblyman Anthony Portantino

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/hollywood/california-party-crasher-law/

I have to be honest, I despise elitist classism and special treatment which is what this bill represents. Why is it needed to threaten average people with police action and jail time just so that the Hollywood elite can cavort among their own. They've even made movies and money about gate crashers. All they need to do, just as at any party, is to ask the offender to leave.

Hollywood makes tons of money from the public off of their celebrity status (plus forced taxpayer funding) but now they want to put the same public that frivolously and foolishly adores their celebrity in shackles. They must hate it when the little people have the audacity to mingle with their kind. Enforcing this bill will be costly and it has all the implications of creating a class and caste society where never the two shall meet. It is just my opinion, but if I lived in California I would oppose it on the grounds that class separation is at root of the bill.

[Dawson Leery]

1. Take away their tax benefits.

[mackerel]

2. OMDarwin they'll push through a bill on anything these days.

The state California is in and they're wasting their money on this tripe.

[howaboutme]

6. It only proves the point

that politicians will do anything they can for the right people at the right price, while doing nothing for the average people. But what do I know, I'm just one of the unconnected average people that get the shaft and little else. I pay taxes, vote and watch the elite get everything.

[petronius]

3. I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds to me like this kind of trespassing is already illegal,

it's just an infraction. The sponsors want to bump simple entering without permission to a misdemeanor in the specific case of it being a private event. (Damage, interruption, theft during the trespass would already make it a misdemeanor, as would remaining after being ordered to leave.) So I don't really see the need for this - if someone wanders into a place and gets caught they're guilty of an infraction and should be cited by any police officers on the scene. Event security can tell people to leave, but I see no reason to give them the ability to detain people, or to make the penalty larger than it is.

My only question would be what if the event is a concert or a sporting event and the person goes in and 'consumes' it - is there anything currently in the law about 'theft of service' that would apply?

[Kerrytravelers]

4. Could it be about paparazzi?

It might refer to "general public", but is the target actually the paparazzi?

They are a danger when they cause traffic accidents, stalk people, take pictures of people's children, etc.

I live in LA. Specifically, I live in a section where a TON of films are made. And there are always paparazzi underfoot. I'm not talking about photographers taking pictures of public people, but the ones that will do anything for that one picture, regardless of the safety.

When I opened the link, I could only see a white page, but I'll try again later.

[howaboutme]

5. Maybe - but it could be about

the overpaid Hollywood elite that do not ever ever wish to rub elbows with the little people such as myself and others, unless they financially gain from the encounter.

If the huddled masses bought tickets for $300 each to their little event they would most definitely find it acceptable.

[Xithras]

7. I just read the text of the law, and this could be broadly applied to political rallies as well.

Are your local tea partiers having a rally? If you, as a liberal, show up to listen or even protest, you can be arrested and charged with trespass if this passes. If they have "lawful control" of the property (a permit to rally in a park, for example), and post signs saying that certain classes aren't allowed ("No liberals permitted past this point"), your mere presence at the event would become a prosecutable event. This may have been drafted for the SAG, but it is VERY broad and could be applied to a huge array of situations.

The current law merely requires that security guards ask a person to leave. If they do so, no crime is committed. If they are asked to leave and refuse, the police can cite them for trespassing. This system has worked well, and doesn't need to be tweaked just to suit some Hollywood types.

[Auggie]

8. Upholding this law comes at public expense, of course

instead of to the event holders who could simply hire more security people.

Misdemeanor definition (http://www.sandiegocrimedefense.com/felony-misdemeanor-charges.html):

"These are more serious crimes punishable by up to one year in local, county jail. Additionally, fines up to $1,000 can be ordered by the court. The most common types of misdemeanor offenses are D.U.I., petty theft, simple drug possession, and most domestic violence. While jail is a distinct possibility, other more likely outcomes can include counseling and/or work service."

Party crashing carries the same penalty as a D.U.I.? No fucking way.