Victory! 11 States That Have Shut Down Ag-Gag Bills and How They Did It 1. Arkansas Arkansas was among the 15 states that sponsored anti-whistleblower laws in 2013. The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Gary Stubblefield, but was ultimately blocked by Governor Mike Beebe, with help from The Humane Society of the United States and Arkansas Animal Protection Coalition. 2. California Talk about power in numbers. California’s ag-gag bill was shutdown by the very author of the bill. After facing incredible pressure from animal rights, environmental, food safety, labor unions, Assemblymember Jim Patterson withdrew the bill. According to the Humane Society’s report, nineteen Calif. newspapers editorialized against the bill. 3. Florida Florida Senator Jim Norman is among the legislators who believes that undercover investigators are “almost like terrorists.” Despite Senator Norman’s inflated rhetoric, Florida’s ag-gag bill was rejected in both the House and the Senate in 2012. 4. Indiana Ag-gag bills seem to pop-up in Indiana like gag reflex. Anti-whistleblower legislation made it to the table in 2012, 2013, and again in 2014 in Indiana. Both 2012 and 2013 bills failed, while the 2014 S.B. 101 passed, but was stripped of its’ “ag-gag-type” provisions. 4. Illinois Opponents of the Illinois anti-whistleblower bill included environmentalists, animal rights activists, and even farmers. Seeing the bill as protecting the “bad actors” in agriculture while making the good farmers appear as if they had something to hide, the bill was tabled by the House in 2012. 5. Minnesota Minnesota’s ag-gag bill was also shutdown as the result of opposition from media outlets, the public, and a number of animal advocacy groups. An undercover investigation done on Christensen’s Farms led Costco, one of Christensen’s largest consumers, to urge the company to phase out gestation crates by 2022. 6. Nebraska In 2012, ag-gag legislation was introduced and shutdown in Nebraska, only to resurface in 2013. The bill in 2013 not only included measures to ban unauthorized video-recordings but stepped the offense up to a felony conviction. Luckily, the bill failed and no new legislation has appeared on the subject. 7. New York According to the Humane Society, The New York Times is among one of the nation’s newpapers that has openly opposed ag-gag laws in their editorial section. In fact, the bill’s sponsor, Jean Richie was also opposed to ag-gag laws. Richie proposed the bill with the intent of passing legislation to prevent meth addicts from sneaking on farms to steal fertilizer to make methamphetamine. However, the bill was brought to the table with a clause (included by Big-Ag influencers) that would also make any sort of recording of farm properties illegal. Once Richie was alerted to the ag-gag clause, by animal rights groups, she pulled the bill immediately. 8. North Carolina Following en suite with the staggering rejection of ag-gag laws in 2013, North Carolina failed to pass anti-whistleblower legislation in the past year. A large factor in the failure of this bill comes thanks to the work of whistleblowers who helped to expose the deep corruption of officials responsible for moderating animal welfare laws. Factory farm investigations headed by Mercy For Animals revealed the gross mistreatment of animals in Butterball factories across the state. When law enforcement was alerted to the abuse, they consulted an official in the state’s Department of Agriculture who, instead of taking appropriate action, called the offending Butterball facility to warn them about the coming raid. This official has since been charged for obstruction of justice. Clearly illustrating the real importance of whistleblowers! 9. Tennessee An ag-gag bill was introduced to legislation in 2013, and passed by legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Bill Haslam. Singer Carrie Underwood played an integral role in the defeat of this bill. Underwood stated if Governor Haslam did not veto the bill, she would show up at his doorstep. Luckily, the Governor saw the light and vetoed the law. Among the reason he gave for vetoing the bill, was that it would be “more difficult to prosecute animal cruelty cases, [if bill were passed].” What a smart Governor! 10. Vermont The Vermont Senate introduced legislation in 2013 that would fine agricultural whistleblowers up to $1,000 for exposing the crimes of Big-Ag. While the bill was actually supported by Big-Dairy in the state (what a surprise!), the bill ultimately did NOT pass. 11. Wyoming Wyoming’s success against ag-gag legislation can be in large-part thanks to none other than Bob Barker! The famed T.V. host, answered the call to action and partnered with animal activist groups to appeal to the Wyoming Senators who sponsored the bill. Way to go Bob! The Big Picture Overwhelmingly, the lesson we can learn from these 11 success stories is that the opinion of the people matters! Eliciting the support of news media; animal, environmental, and human rights organizations; and even celebrities, real change can be made to improve the lives of animals raised on factory farms! The Agricultural Industry does not want the public to even know that they are slipping ag-gag legislation into state law (just look at New York), so the best thing you can do is start a discussion. More and more of the public is demanding transparency from Big-Ag, and the more you raise your opinion and share the truth about whistleblower investigations, the greater impact you can have on making sure these bills NEVER see the light of day. So now that you know how 11 states have shut these unconstitutional, unjust laws down, spread the word and lets get the other 39 states on this list! Article ~ onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/states-that-have-shut-down-ag-gag-bills-and-how-they-did-it/
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:50:01 +0000
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