Council to Remove ‘Gypsy’ Reference

After being accused of defaming Gypsies, the City Council has moved to amend an ordinance so that the words “Gypsy cunning” are no longer part of the description of a fortune-teller.

The City Council last month adopted a measure establishing procedures for licensing fortune-tellers, declaring in the ordinance that the practice requires forecasting by various means, including “Gypsy cunning.” The measure was written by City Atty. Richard Morillo, who said he copied the definition from a San Gabriel city ordinance and never meant to offend Gypsies.

‘Oriental mysteries’

San Gabriel City Atty. Graham Ritchie said he isn’t sure where he obtained the language, but San Gabriel’s ordinance permitting fortunetelling contains references to “Gypsy cunning and foresight” and to “Oriental mysteries.”

Barry Fisher, attorney for the Los Angeles-based U.S. Romany Council, a private organization dedicated to advancing the interests of Gypsies, called the ordinance “racist. It’s really outlandish that (a reference to Gypsy cunning) would turn up in an ordinance today.”

Ironically, the ordinance may have been based on information Fisher provided to San Gabriel.

Fisher said San Gabriel is one of a dozen cities he has advised on fortune-telling regulations. He provided San Gabriel with sample ordinances from other cities and one of them might have included “Gypsy cunning” in its fortune-telling definition, Fisher said. He usually warns city attorneys to delete references to Gypsies, but Fisher said he may have forgotten to tell San Gabriel.

Derogatory Language

Fisher said many cities enacted laws against fortune-telling decades ago to discourage Gypsies from moving to their towns. The laws contained derogatory language about Gypsies and the references have persisted out of ignorance, he said. “Very few people know anything about Gypsies.”

Morillo said he took the reference to Gypsy cunning from a fortune-telling description in the San Gabriel ordinance without intending to denigrate any group. “There was certainly no attempt to single out anyone,” he said.

It is common practice among city attorneys to lift language out of ordinances adopted in other cities, he said, but he is not excusing himself for including the phrase in Monterey Park’s ordinance. He said he is sorry if he embarrassed the City Council. “I’ll take full responsibility,” he said. “I prepared the ordinance.”

The Monterey Park ordinance does not capitalize the word Gypsy, but Webster’s New World Dictionary contains only a capitalized word and says it refers to a specific people and those who share their habits and appearance. The dictionary defines Gypsies as “a wandering Caucasoid people with dark skin and black hair, found throughout the world and believed to have originated in India; they are known as musicians, fortune-tellers, etc.”

Fisher represented Fatima Stevens, a Gypsy, in a landmark lawsuit invalidating the city of Azusa’s ban on fortune-telling. The state Supreme Court ruled last month that the Azusa law violated the free speech protections of the state Constitution.

That and other federal court rulings have prompted many cities to replace fortune-telling prohibitions with ordinances setting regulations for fortune-telling.

The original ordinance adopted by the Monterey Park City Council sets up licensing procedures and says that fortune-telling “shall mean the telling of fortunes, forecasting the future or furnishing any information by means of astrology, phrenology, cartomancy (fortune-telling with cards), crystal gazing, divination, prophecy, augury” and many other means, including “Gypsy cunning.”

That “was just an unfortunate choice of words” that slipped by the City Council, said Mayor Rudy Peralta. “We don’t read all the fine type, even though I’d like to say we do,” Peralta said.

The council last week gave first reading to an ordinance amending the ordinance to eliminate the reference to Gypsies. The ordinance will come back before the council for adoption next month.

Irv Gilman, a former city councilman, brought the phrase to the council’s attention earlier this month. Gilman thanked the council for taking steps to delete the offensive phrase, but said he still does not understand why fortune-telling should require a license.

“Fortune-telling is just giving advice,” he said.

Meanwhile, in San Gabriel, City Administrator Robert Clute said his city’s fortune-telling ordinance, adopted a few months ago, has not drawn any complaint for referring to the cunning of Gypsies. He said the ordinance was drafted with Fisher’s assistance.

City Atty. Ritchie said he is not certain what is meant by the phrase “Gypsy cunning.” He said he did not consider it offensive and that no plans are made to change the language since no one has complained.

“I don’t think it’s defamatory,” he said, adding that if he were accused of being “a cunning lawyer,” he would think that “it’s not the worst thing that could be said.”