SB 209

Senate Bill 209 (the Astaire bill) seems to be pushing its way through the state Assembly like a juggernaut. Although this proposed law does protect the rights of deceased celebrities, it is also tailored to change free speech as we know it.

Under this bill, playwrights, biographers, composers and various other creative folk would now have the burden of proving that their work falls under 1st Amendment protection. Although the vast majority would probably prevail in the end, how many of these struggling artists could afford the legal costs to defend their position?

Indeed, what book publisher or producer would be willing to take on a work--even if it is complimentary to its subject--that is bound to generate a lawsuit, frivolous or not?

Had this proposed law been in force for the past 50-60 years, how many fine books (fiction and nonfiction), films, stage plays, songs and other works of art would never have seen the light of day, simply because producers and publishers wanted to avoid legal problems?

MICHAEL B. DRUXMAN

Calabasas