Rap Shooting Could Have Been Avoided

The Anaheim Celebrity Theatre, in the news last year over its controversial booking of the obscene and outlawed rap group 2 Live Crew and its protested Nov. 9 performance, is again in the news following the shooting and rioting at another of its rap concerts. (“Rap Fan Shot During Melee in Anaheim,” Dec. 28.)

This happened in the wake of our futile protests and appeals to Mayor (Fred) Hunter and the Anaheim City Council to ban obscene rap groups or those having a history of fomenting chaos and disorder. (We also reached the state Alcoholic Beverage Control board regarding the highly questionable serving of hard liquor, but got nowhere.)

The vile, X-rated 2 Live Crew (album “As Nasty As They Wanna Be”) had been banned in other cities and at all military bases, and in December, 1989, the gang violence (during a 2 Live Crew performance) at the Oakland Coliseum resulted in a yearlong moratorium by that city on all rap groups. Despite this, our City Council refused to act.

We then submitted a resolution for consideration by the council calling for the prohibition of obscene rap groups for the maintenance of law and order and reasonable community standards. We cited Anaheim as a city of traditional values, known worldwide for its outstanding family-oriented entertainment facilities and activities. Again, our appeals were ignored.

We even requested the help of the Rev. Louis Sheldon and his Traditional Values Coalition, whose offices are across the street from the Celebrity Theatre, to no avail.

Though children as young as 7 attended the obscene performance, the Anaheim police refused to prevent their admittance. And though we subsequently requested Police Chief Joseph T. Malloy to prosecute for violation of obscenity laws and for contributing to the delinquency of minors, he and the city attorney have shown no interest in our videotaped evidence and have ignored our formal complaints.

Since our last appeal, we’ve had the Celebrity Theatre shooting and rioting, and the media has reported similar violence at rap and punk rock concerts in North Hollywood and other areas of the nation.

And now, belatedly, a suddenly concerned mayor suggests a ban on Anaheim rap concerts. In addition, he suggested, in a recent phone conversation, a meeting of interested parties (including myself) to deal with the serious matter. However, we’re still waiting for Chief Malloy to act on our charges.

Failing here, we will request the assistance of the district attorney and/or the Orange County Grand Jury.

HOWARD GARBER, Anaheim

NC-17 Rating as Bad as X