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Dead GIs' names cause a fuss
Law would bar use on protest T-shirts without family OK
MARY JO PITZL
The Arizona Republic
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Dead soldiers' names or photos could not be used for commercial purposes without their families' consent under a proposed law written to stop a Flagstaff businessman from making anti-war T-shirts.
The bill in the Arizona Legislature mirrors successful efforts in two other states to curb Dan Frazier's sales. It's the latest front in a national effort to protect the use of dead soldiers' names and photos.
"All we're saying is, if you're going to use a soldier's name, get permission from the next of kin," said Ed Flinn, director of joint programs for the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and a retired active-duty Army colonel.
Frazier says it's a free-speech right to use the names of war dead on his T-shirts. Frazier produces a shirt that says "Bush Lied, They Died," against a backdrop of the names of 2,800 soldiers killed in the Iraq war as of last fall.
"It's protected speech," said Frazier, who sells the shirts through his Web site, www.carryabigsticker.com "It's political speech, and there's no bones about it."
Frazier said he isn't dishonoring the dead, but instead trying to highlight their sacrifice in what he considers an unjust war.
"These men and women all served their country honorably and equally," he said. "I don't think it's fair to anybody to take anybody's name off the shirt for any reason."
Relatives of several of the service people listed in the agate-sized type have disagreed and asked Frazier to remove their kins' name. When he refused, they turned to their local lawmakers, leading to new laws in Louisiana and Oklahoma, two bills in Congress and legislation in Texas and now, Arizona.
State Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, is sponsoring Senate Bill 1014, which would make it a first-class misdemeanor to use the name, portrait or picture of a dead soldier for commercial purposes.
Members of the Senate's Commerce and Economic Development Committee were supportive, approving the bill on a 7-1 vote. But they found holes in the bill, saying they needed to be corrected before final passage to avoid trampling on First Amendment rights and ensuring the bill doesn't overreach.
"We have to be careful about how broad this is, so we don't get unintended consequences," said Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix.
George Washington is a dead soldier, Cheuvront said, noting the bill does not stipulate how far back in time the restrictions go, nor does it extend only to those who died in the line of duty.
And he doesn't want to see the maker of his Davy Crockett T-shirt penalized for putting the soldier's image on a "Remember the Alamo" T-shirt.
Sen. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, and the only "no" vote, said the bill needs to make it clear that it applies only to commercial speech and would not block media reports, protests or support rallies.
To Sen. Robert Blendu, R-Litchfield Park, it's distasteful that there are protections against using a celebrity's image without permission, but apparently no protections for service people.
However, residents have civil protections against their name or image being used without their permission. Waring's bill would make it a criminal offense.
First Amendment attorney Dan Barr said the "right of publicity" protects people from unauthorized use of their name or likeness.
But the success of prosecuting such cases depends on the details, he said. For example, using a dead soldier's photo to sell, say, cars, would be a clear violation. Using a soldier's name in the tiny type displayed on Frazier's T-shirt might be a harder case to prove, he said.
The controversy prompted Frazier to suspend T-shirt sales in Louisiana and Oklahoma, although he said he is reconsidering that move. And the brouhaha has been good for business, he said, boosting once-sluggish sales to more than 500 sold in the past six months.
Frazier said it's not clear that he's made a profit from the shirts, which sell for $20. The design was complex - fitting 2,800 names into a 13-inch-wide space - and he designates $1 from each sale for a charity that supports military families.
Law would bar use on protest T-shirts without family OK
MARY JO PITZL
The Arizona Republic
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Dead soldiers' names or photos could not be used for commercial purposes without their families' consent under a proposed law written to stop a Flagstaff businessman from making anti-war T-shirts.
The bill in the Arizona Legislature mirrors successful efforts in two other states to curb Dan Frazier's sales. It's the latest front in a national effort to protect the use of dead soldiers' names and photos.
"All we're saying is, if you're going to use a soldier's name, get permission from the next of kin," said Ed Flinn, director of joint programs for the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and a retired active-duty Army colonel.
Frazier says it's a free-speech right to use the names of war dead on his T-shirts. Frazier produces a shirt that says "Bush Lied, They Died," against a backdrop of the names of 2,800 soldiers killed in the Iraq war as of last fall.
"It's protected speech," said Frazier, who sells the shirts through his Web site, www.carryabigsticker.com "It's political speech, and there's no bones about it."
Frazier said he isn't dishonoring the dead, but instead trying to highlight their sacrifice in what he considers an unjust war.
"These men and women all served their country honorably and equally," he said. "I don't think it's fair to anybody to take anybody's name off the shirt for any reason."
Relatives of several of the service people listed in the agate-sized type have disagreed and asked Frazier to remove their kins' name. When he refused, they turned to their local lawmakers, leading to new laws in Louisiana and Oklahoma, two bills in Congress and legislation in Texas and now, Arizona.
State Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, is sponsoring Senate Bill 1014, which would make it a first-class misdemeanor to use the name, portrait or picture of a dead soldier for commercial purposes.
Members of the Senate's Commerce and Economic Development Committee were supportive, approving the bill on a 7-1 vote. But they found holes in the bill, saying they needed to be corrected before final passage to avoid trampling on First Amendment rights and ensuring the bill doesn't overreach.
"We have to be careful about how broad this is, so we don't get unintended consequences," said Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix.
George Washington is a dead soldier, Cheuvront said, noting the bill does not stipulate how far back in time the restrictions go, nor does it extend only to those who died in the line of duty.
And he doesn't want to see the maker of his Davy Crockett T-shirt penalized for putting the soldier's image on a "Remember the Alamo" T-shirt.
Sen. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, and the only "no" vote, said the bill needs to make it clear that it applies only to commercial speech and would not block media reports, protests or support rallies.
To Sen. Robert Blendu, R-Litchfield Park, it's distasteful that there are protections against using a celebrity's image without permission, but apparently no protections for service people.
However, residents have civil protections against their name or image being used without their permission. Waring's bill would make it a criminal offense.
First Amendment attorney Dan Barr said the "right of publicity" protects people from unauthorized use of their name or likeness.
But the success of prosecuting such cases depends on the details, he said. For example, using a dead soldier's photo to sell, say, cars, would be a clear violation. Using a soldier's name in the tiny type displayed on Frazier's T-shirt might be a harder case to prove, he said.
The controversy prompted Frazier to suspend T-shirt sales in Louisiana and Oklahoma, although he said he is reconsidering that move. And the brouhaha has been good for business, he said, boosting once-sluggish sales to more than 500 sold in the past six months.
Frazier said it's not clear that he's made a profit from the shirts, which sell for $20. The design was complex - fitting 2,800 names into a 13-inch-wide space - and he designates $1 from each sale for a charity that supports military families.
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