Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 26, 1990 TAG: 9007260009
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BATON ROUGE, LA. LENGTH: Medium
Musicians and recording industry executives had threatened to boycott Louisiana if Roemer signed the bill - the first of its kind in the nation. However, he denied those warnings guided his decision.
"Now, I speak not as a governor, just as a skinny, 46-year-old parent," Roemer told reporters. "As a parent and as a governor, this legislation has presented to me my most severe philosophical conflict - my strong belief about decency in the proper upbringing of my own children versus my strong belief and dedication to freedom of speech . . . and my innate desire to avoid excessive governmental interference."
The bill would have required warning labels on recordings interpreted as promoting deviant sex, violence, drug abuse, suicide or child abuse. It also would have prohibited sale of such recordings to people under age 17.
Retailers, manufacturers and distributors would have been subject to possible six-month jail terms and $5,000 fines.
Although the bill passed with more than the two-thirds majority needed in the House and Senate for a veto override, the Legislature is in recess and a majority of each house would have to vote by mail to conduct a veto session. No Louisiana governor's veto has been overridden this century.
At his news conference, the Democratic governor was flanked by supporters including Tipper Gore, president of a parents organization that pushed for voluntary labeling, and by Jason Berman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America.
Gore, wife of Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., has campaigned for voluntary labeling, which she said "accommodates the rights of artists' freedom of expression, which is the foundation of our nation, and the needs of parents to make an informed choice in the marketplace."
by CNB