Sunday, November 21, 2010

Weekend Edition: Senate Agrees to Pass a Bill

Reuters: Rescued baby river dolphin is noticed
There are some issues so inherently and morally correct, that even the US Senate is compelled to act. One might place nuclear arms control in this category of imperatives, another is preventing animal cruelty. The lame duck Senate unanimously passed a bill that makes the creating, selling or distributing videos that feature the torturing or killing of animals a felony crime. So-called "crush videos" are the sick products of a demented, sadomasochistic mind. The Supreme Court struck down 18 USC §48 which outlawed such pornography as overly broad and infringing free speech. The new, revised legislation more narrowly defines what constitutes a prohibited video and excludes videos of hunting, fishing, trapping or "customary veterinary and husbandry practices". Nevertheless, one shudders at the thought of videotaping an animal in pain at the hands of man regardless of the circumstances. The bill goes to President Obama for his signature to make it law.