Sen. McGuire revives press protections bill
Previous version was vetoed by governor
Following a record-breaking year of journalists detained or attacked in the United States, North Coast state
Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) reintroduced legislation to extend protections to members of the press. At least 322 journalists have been assaulted, 122 have been arrested or detained and more than 980 have reported press freedoms violations since the beginning of the year, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
SB 98 would invoke additional protections from law enforcement for journalists attending demonstrations, marches, protests and rallies.
“SB 98 is a common-sense bill that will protect journalists’ constitutional right to gather and report the news,” McGuire said in a phone interview with the TimesStandard on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s going to prohibit law enforcement officers from obstructing, detaining, assaulting or otherwise preventing the press, from fulfilling their constitutional mandate.”
The Freedom of the Press Foundation reported at least 122 verified cases of journalists being arrested or detained in 2020, up 1,200% from 2019. “Arrests occurred in more than two dozen cities across the country. And more than 36% of the arrests were accompanied by an assault: journalists were beaten, hit with rubber bullets or other projectiles or covered in chemical agents, like tear gas or pepper spray,” according to the Dec. 14 report.
“My bottom line is this: Rubber bullets, tear gas and detainment cannot become the new norm for members of the American press,” McGuire said. “California must lead the way to ensure the freedom of the press and the First Amendment are protected. I’m a firm believer that California must have the highest press freedom standards in the nation.”
McGuire noted that SB 98 would allow journalists and newsgathering organizations to advance litigation against unlawful detainment arrest in assaults.
“It clearly states in the bill that a journalist who is detained or arrested could challenge that detainment on- scene with law enforcement management that is overseeing the incident,” he added.
A similar bill, SB 629, was in