Must Be The Rarified Air They Breath

[phesina]

Is there some way this law could be written more tightly so that it would pass Constitutional muster?

[lizbud]

Is there some way this law could be written more tightly so that it would pass Constitutional muster?

I am sure they are working on it already. They made films of child porn
illegal, I'm sure they could narrow the scope of the law. The "free speech"
argument did work when they tried to strike down the ban on child porn.

[Grace]

Susan Estrich column for today -

The First Amendment and Animals

Let me be clear at the outset: I love dogs. Not like them, love them. Of course, I love mine the best: Judy J. Estrich, Molly Emily Estrich and Irving A. Estrich. Judy is named after one of my dearest friends, Judy Jarvis, who died of cancer 10 years ago. Molly is named after her dog, who took care of her when she was sick and taught me not to be afraid of big dogs. Irving is named for my father. I would kill anybody who laid a hand on them.

That is why I so strongly support the efforts of Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., and Rep. James Moran, D-Va., to enact legislation aimed at prohibiting the sale and distribution of "crush" videos depicting senseless and vicious animal cruelty.

In 1999, according to the Humane Society of the United States, there were as many as 3,000 videos on the market depicting animals being crushed, burned or impaled for so-called "entertainment" value. After Gallegly's initial bill was enacted, the market disappeared. But earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court held that law to be unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds, finding that it swept too broadly and could be construed to apply (even though no one ever has) even to hunting videos.

Videos of women in high heels crushing puppies to death are a far cry from hunting videos. I'm glad that the conservative court has embraced the First Amendment, which they don't always do. But nothing in the First Amendment allows for the celebration of criminal cruelty. Just as we protect children through carefully tailored bans on child pornography, so should we be entitled to protect animals from the effects of gratuitous and criminal violence.

In 2008, a federal court of appeals struck down the law that Gallegly championed.
Subsequently, the Humane Society found that the blatantly offensive videos that had disappeared from the market in 1999 were all over the Internet.

I was teaching a First Amendment class at that time and remember assigning my students the task of finding the "outer limit" of protected speech. I don't shock easily, but I was shocked. What kind of a person would make such things or watch them?

I understand the dangers of content-based regulation. I understand that the answer to bad ideas is debate and not censorship. But I am hard-pressed to come up with any argument as to the value of protecting depictions of criminal cruelty and the brutal murder of animals. These are not hunting videos we are talking about. They aren't images of slaughterhouses. Staging such events would be criminal (just ask Michael Vick), and recording them and selling them should be, too.

The new bill introduced by Gallegly and Moran this week would prohibit the interstate sale of images of animals being "intentionally crushed, burned, drowned or impaled" unless they have "religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historic or artistic value." Punishment is up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. The draft bill, in an effort to satisfy First Amendment critics (including those in robes), specifically provides that it does not apply to hunting videos.

Don't expect all the critics to be satisfied. Andrew Tauber, an attorney who filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court, is already being quoted today criticizing the bill as "presumptively unconstitutional." A new round of court challenges should be expected. Sign me up.

There's a famous Harry Truman quote I've always loved: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Dogs are lucky to have good friends in Gallegly and Moran. They just need a few more on the court.

link

[Puckstop31]

Holy Smokes! I actually kind of agree with Susan Estrich!

Re-write the law, perhaps, to be VERY specific and have it apply only to video of criminal conduct. I say that, because the HSUS takes a very anti-hunting position. So, that they are championing this law, gives me pause.

[wombat2u2004]

Good on ya Susan........nice to see someone who stands up to the old "Freedom gone Mad" amendment.

[Grace]

Holy Smokes! I actually kind of agree with Susan Estrich!

You sound just like my husband, Puck. I often give him her commentaries to read, and he is very surprised to find he is in agreement.

[phesina]

I just got an e-mail from the ASPCA about this:

Representative Elton Gallegly of California has acted quickly and introduced a bill to amend the law. H.R. 5092 will make the Crush Act’s language more specific and resolve the over-breadth concerns raised by the Supreme Court.

Passage of H.R. 5092 will help prevent a revitalization of the crush video industry. This horrific industry has no place in a civilized society. The original Crush Act was passed with little opposition—help us ensure that this revision passes, too.

What You Can Do

AMERICANS:
Please get in touch with your representative asking him/her to support and co-sponsor this bill and act to move it quickly through the legislative process. Contact forms and more information are available through the ASPCA's web site (https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/sit...iqerd3.app223b).

and EVERYBODY:
Please spread the word to as many others (especially Americans) as you can, too!

THANK YOU!!!!!

[Puckstop31]

You sound just like my husband, Puck. I often give him her commentaries to read, and he is very surprised to find he is in agreement.

Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I read her stuff a lot. This is indeed a rare event for me.