Sacramento Area Local News

SACRAMENTO (AP) ― A California legislator wants to expand state law to prevent sales of T-shirts, posters and buttons that carry the names of Iraq war dead without the permission of their heirs.

Republican Assemblyman Mike Duvall has introduced legislation in response to the sale of anti-war T-shirts listing the more than 4,000 American troops who have been killed in Iraq since 2003.

The bill would build on the so-called "Marilyn Monroe law," a statute that prohibits the commercial use of the names, signatures, photographs, voices or likenesses of celebrities for 70 years after their deaths without permission from their estates.

There are some exceptions to that requirement, including books, magazines, newspaper articles and works of art that feature deceased celebrities.

Duvall's legislation would extend the law to cover people who have commercial value because of their deaths. Violators could be sued by heirs who objected to the use of their loved one's name, picture, voice, signature or image.

It passed the Assembly in April without opposition and is scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Similar laws have been enacted in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

"I believe somebody's name is personal property...," said Duvall, of Yorba Linda. "If somebody's going to make a profit, you should get permission from the family."

He said the legislation could cover people killed in a "horrific accident or a catastrophe" as well as in combat.

A legislative analysis of the bill suggests it could raise First Amendment issues.

Last August, a federal judge in Arizona barred an attempt to prosecute Dan Frazier, the owner of a Flagstaff T-shirt and bumper sticker company that sells anti-war shirts listing Iraq war dead.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake did not strike down the Arizona statute, which makes it a misdemeanor to use the name, portrait or picture of deceased military personnel to sell or advertise merchandise without permission from the immediate family or trustee.

But Wake said using the law to prosecute Frazier violated his First Amendment rights because his shirts were "core political speech."

Duvall's bill would create a right to sue, rather than authorize criminal charges, so the Arizona case might not indicate how it would fare in a court challenge, the analysis said.

Frazier, a former journalist who describes himself as an entrepreneur and anti-war activist, said listing the names "helps people to get a better sense of the scale of the tragedy" in Iraq.

"I don't think the shirts would sell at all without those names on it," he said. "That's what makes it so emotionally powerful for people."

He said publicity about legislation such as Duvall's bill has helped drive up sales.

"I don't sell many shirts when there's nothing happening on the legal front," he said.

Frazier's Web site offers two versions of the war-dead T-shirts, both for $18. One says "Bush Lied" on the front and "They Died" on the back against a backdrop of the names of military personnel killed in Iraq.

The other shirt says "Support Our Remaining Troops" on the front and "Bring The Rest Home Alive" on the back, also against a background of names.

So far, Frazier has sold nearly 4,600 of the shirts. He said he donates $1 from the sale of each shirt to a group that helps the families of those killed in service.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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