WRITERS SUE CITY OVER LAW TAXING HOME AUTHORS.Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer The Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is a term often referring to the joint efforts of the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, west. Jointly, the two guilds act as the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and filed suit in federal court Monday to block the city of Los Angeles
The lawsuit, filed in United Stated District Court on behalf of 5,000 guild members in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , seeks to have writers exempted from the city's Home Occupation Ordinance on grounds it violates their First Amendment rights to freedom of expression. Under the Home Occupation Ordinance, people who operate businesses in their homes must obtain a $25 city permit and pay business taxes - which writers say would run about $120 per year. At a news conference at the guild headquarters in West Los Angeles
``The idea of registration is simply abhorrent ab·hor·rent adj. 1. Disgusting, loathsome, or repellent. 2. Feeling repugnance or loathing. 3. Archaic Being strongly opposed. to writers everywhere,'' said Gary Bostwick, an attorney for the guild. ``It brings up the nightmare of things that have happened behind the Iron Curtain For the Iron Maiden video by the same name, see . Behind the Iron Curtain is a concert recorded by Nico for "Pandora's Music Box '85" at De Doelen Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal (Great Hall), in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on October 9, 1985. .'' The guild filed its lawsuit three days after the city ended an amnesty program for people to register without penalty. Groups that voiced support for the lawsuit Monday and may file court briefs include PEN Center USA West, the Independent Writers of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Southern California. ``The creative process deserves and must be granted complete freedom,'' said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. . City Councilwoman Laura Chick said the Home Occupation Ordinance is not intended to apply to people who write alone in their homes, without employees, client visits and advertising because they do not have an impact on their neighborhood. However, all writers are supposed to pay business taxes to the city and have faced that requirement for decades, said Ken Bernstein, an aide to Chick. To reduce the confusion, council members Chick and Mike Feuer asked the City Attorney's Office on Friday to issue a clarifying opinion about how writers would be affected by the ordinance. The lawsuit charges that it is unconstitutional to require writers to obtain a permit to write in their homes. The guild also challenges the ordinance for giving city clerks and tax auditors the power to enter homes to determine whether there is taxable business activity. That, writers fear, could lead the city to target writers who are critical of officials, said Carey Simon of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. ``These are people who are very concerned about what happens if they write articles critical of the city and their permits come up for renewal,'' she said. Guild President Brad Radnitz said there is also fear that the ordinances could be used to impose moral standards on writing. ``By barring `adult entertainment' as a home occupation, which could be interpreted to include a film such as `The English Patient,' the ordinance opens the door to city censorship of screen and other writing in the home,'' Radnitz said. Chick said the City Council has been advised informally by the City Attorney's Office that the city is on strong legal ground requiring home-based businesses to pay taxes and obtain permits. Mike Qualls of the City Attorney's Office said the opinion is still being drafted and he could not comment on the merits on the merits adj. referring to a judgment, decision or ruling of a court based upon the facts presented in evidence and the law applied to that evidence. A judge decides a case "on the merits" when he/she bases the decision on the fundamental issues and considers of the lawsuit. The cities of West Hollywood and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of exempt writers from their home-business occupation permits, while Chicago includes writers in its ordinance but doesn't actively enforce the law, officials said. Mayor Richard Riordan has indicated he may seek an extension of the amnesty program for writers until the City Attorney and City Clerk's offices issue clear guidelines for how writers are affected by the Home Occupation Ordinance and business tax program. ``The mayor is concerned that the confusing and conflicting information people have received about this matter does not reflect well upon our city,'' said mayoral chief of staff Robin Kramer in a letter to City Clerk Mike Carey on Friday. |
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