Onstage suicide out
2003-09-29 20:15
Florida - The city council of St Petersburg passed a law on Monday designed to scuttle a rock group's plans to feature an onstage suicide.
The hard-rock band Hell on Earth had said that a suicide by a terminally ill person would take place during a concert on Saturday to raise awareness of right-to-die issues.
In response, the city council met on Monday morning to unanimously approve an emergency ordinance making it illegal to conduct a suicide for commercial or entertainment purposes, and to host, promote and sell tickets for such an event.
"While I still think it's a publicity stunt, we still couldn't sit idly by and let somebody lose their life," council member Bill Foster said.
Tampa-based Hell of Earth, known for such outrageous onstage stunts as chocolate syrup wrestling and grinding up live rats in a blender, created the furore by announcing the suicide would happen on Saturday at the Palace Theatre in downtown St Petersburg.
But the theatre's owner, David Hundley, promptly cancelled the band's show, and another venue also turned away the event.
Band leader Billy Tourtelot has vowed that the concert and suicide will still take place at an undisclosed location in the city, and will be broadcast live on the band's website.
"This show is far more than a typical Hell On Earth performance," Tourtelot said in an e-mail last week. "This is about standing up for what you believe in, and I am a strong supporter of physician-assisted suicide."
A message left for Tourtelot was not immediately returned on Monday.
A Florida law already makes assisting in a suicide manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
Hell on Earth is playing clubs in support of its independently produced album, "All Things Disturbingly Sassy."
- AP