To fight graffiti, L.A. Council may restrict spraypaint sales

In its continuing effort to reduce graffiti, the Los Angeles City Council is considering expanding restrictions on the sale of aerosol spraypaint cans and other materials to people under 21.

At the request of Councilmen Dennis Zine, Greig Smith and Eric Garcetti, the public safety committee today asked city lawyers to work on a possible ordinance that would outlaw sales to anyone under 21, after seeking recommendations from the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s legislative analysts.

“We need to make it as tough as possible if we’re going to get serious on the eradication of graffiti in the city of Los Angeles.  Otherwise it’s cosmetic, it does no good and people continually look at us to say ‘What are you doing to fix this problem that is terrorizing neighborhoods?’ ” Zine said Monday during the public safety committee meeting.

Lawyers said there is already a state law prohibiting the sale of spraypaint cans and etching cream to those under 18. Zine said he hoped the council would raise that age limit to 21, and consider other options such as requiring spraypaint purchasers to show identification or making it a crime for a minor to carry spray paint. The city already requires retailers to keep the paint cans in a locked container. 

“As we can see by driving down any freeway," Zine said, "the current laws aren’t working. They are absolutely being ignored and the consequences aren’t severe enough to have an impact.”

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed a series of laws aimed at reducing graffiti.  The city banned the sale of spraypaint cans, etching acids and indelible markers to persons under 21 in 2007 -- an expansion of an earlier law that restricted sales of graffiti instruments to those under 18. In 2005, the New York City Council also began requiring property owners with six or more units to remove graffiti from their property within 60 days of receiving notice from the city or face a penalty of up to $300.

Chicago passed a ban on the sale of spraypaint cans and indelible markers within city limits in 1992. Shortly after, the National Paint & Coatings Assn. filed a lawsuit challenging the law and was joined by a group of paint retailers and other businesses.

A federal judge overturned Chicago’s spraypaint ban in 1993, but the city appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the restriction to be constitutional. The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court, which denied the request for appeal in March of 1995. The ban went into effect in April of 1995 after a one-month grace period for retailers to adjust.

-- Maeve Reston at L.A. City Hall

Comments

[pleasepetten]

Hide the spray cans !! I was living in So Ca until 2003 & yea if u bought spray paint u had to ask for it (sales person)
and you had to show valid Ca ID , so I think this law is great still.

[bc]

Good idea. Shocking that it took this long to come up with this simple law. LA is being ruined by tagging and graffiti.

[JoJo]

Duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I always thought there was a ban on sales to minors. what the *&() is our elected officials thinking.... That shouldn't even be up for debate, JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you attract new business, and middle class residents that will help spring board everyone else up, if you cant show them something appealing, and safe.

Good people move out, and it is lost for at least two generations....

[joe]

Interesting response by the paint companise..."the National Paint & Coatings Assn. filed a lawsuit challenging the law and was joined by a group of paint retailers and other businesses."
There is a simple solution...levy a $10 tax on each can of spray paint...the tax to be distributed to cities to hire privite contractors to remove grafitti. Let the companies that profit from spray paints pay to cleanup their mess.

[matt]

Good luck with that. It's still not going to deter people that want to participate in graffiti. If you can't stop them, join them by rethinking how we engage with graffiti and those who practice it. The first step is understanding why people do graffiti in the first place, you will be surprised.

[O. B.]

I think they should have come up with this ban years ago. Don't sell the spraypaint to anyone under 21. It should be a limit to how much you can buy. If they stopped selling it altogether that would be good too.

[A concerned American]

WHAT A JOKE!!! First they let it get OUT OF CONTROL.
Then.... they want to try and control it.

And what will the penelty be when they get caught??

A slap on the wrist???

And they (GOV) wonders why we are soo broke? Why not raise the penelty to say $5000 every offence. Work until u pay it off, Even if it takes 20 years.

[dot]

I thought that law was pass years ago ?

[jim w]

I just wonder how effective this will be? people aren't idiots, if you want to get paint to do art then you'll get it. I love the freeway art anyway, much more interesting than concrete.

[Linda]

Anything to avoid actually confronting, arresting and punishing the vandals, eh?

[Don L]

This admits failure of even the most infantile common sense.

It's the person who uses it - not the weapon of choice. If this poor thinking holds water, then by all means, ban matches for preventing piromaniacs -stores for kleptomaniacs, mattresses for rapists, guns and knives for solving murders and holdups, and stop right there, lest you also conclude that banning politicians from talking will eradicate 90% of all lying.

The last may be the only sensible connection of the entire list.

[grafitti is ugly]

They should go further and increase the age to 25 or better yet, ban spray cans completely! There are other types of paint people can use for their projects.

[steve rodriguez]

Would Obama call these thugs "domestic terrorist?"

[DonJMac]

Graffiti ? I remember your mayor and Los Angeles City Council calling this Mess ARTS,There has been laws on the books for years against graffiti, BUT when you call it ARTS the laws don't count.Los Angeles, you put these fools in office, You deserve whatever they give you, YOU, YOU, DUMMIES.

[V47371NE]

No matter what this "council" decides to do, this will not stop ANYTHING. Graffiti will always be around, no matter what you do to stop it. Vandals, no matter what age, will get their hands on aerosol, there's ways of getting around this. For example, illegal drugs are banned everywhere, but people and even minors still get their hands on them. What makes these people think that graffiti will be reduced or simply disappear from the face of this earth by further raising the age limit?

I recently turned 18, and I'm happy to be finally be able to purchase spray paint on my own. I do not vandalize or commit any sort of illegal acts whatsoever. I'm a graffiti artist and only paint on legal walls(I know the consequences of vandalism). I also camouflage paint rifles for those who want that service. I hope this law doesn't pass. It's completely useless and a complete waste a time that won't help out AT ALL.

No matter what they do, there will always be graffiti and there will always be the same amount of it. It's been on the face of this earth since the beginning of time, nothing is going to change. Even if these people decide to somehow stop all manufacturing of spray paint, markers, etch, etc. It will still be here. It's not going anywhere so don't get your hopes up.

[Known Graffiti Artist]

As a graffiti artist i feel that putting an age limit on buying spray paint is not the answer because young artist like myself need that kind of paint to do our kind of paintings. This is not solution to vandalism because it will just provoke young kids to steal paint which no one wants 'especially not the artist because its the only way most of us can get by.Plus the best artist graffiti artist (or vandals as you call it) are probably your age.

[ration]

this is completely ridiculous, won't illegal drug users still find drugs, even if

they are illegal and criminals find guns if the 2nd amendment is abolished?

they will find a way to get paint, only now they will steal, this is not the

solution. they have to address the Root of the problem, which is why they do

graffiti in the first place. if the governments keep this attitude, tings get a lot

worse, as we see in LA.

[Tyler Robbins]

What laws are in effect in these cities that are keeping the stores in line? I'm curious because we have similar laws in Tucson but there aren't any laws in place to really punish stores for not following the lock up laws