11 Mart 2011 Cuma

Forbidden?: Photographing Farms in Florida

Sometimes Law is all about Justice (with a capital J). But sometimes Law is all about petty overreaction. Consider, the case of a new bill SB 1246 written by Sen. Jim Norman (R-Tampa). The bill would outlaw taking photographs of any farm without the express written consent of the owner. Suddenly, beautiful agricultural vistas would literally be a felony.

But there must be a really good explanation, right? One having to do with National Security that clearly justifies this incredible violation of Free Speech and Press Right. Maybe not.
Simpson, president of Simpson Farms near Dade City, said the law would prevent people from posing as farmworkers so that they can secretly film agricultural operations.

He said he could not name an instance in which that happened. But animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Animal Freedom display undercover videos on their web sites to make their case that livestock farming and meat consumption are cruel.
Someone please tell Senator Norman to drop this travesty of a bill now. It is a bad idea on so many levels.

2 yorum:

  1. Somebody has too much time on their hands. Why do politicians get confused when we laugh at them? So much of their jobs are pandering and useless legislation. Whether it is mandatory car seats for children under 90 pounds or pictures of farms, we have too many laws. I challenge you to go through one day without breaking a law. Whether it is using too much water, leaving your grass too long, breaking the speed limit, not wearing your seatbelt, purchasing an item across state lines (Amazon) and not paying the proper taxes, etc ad nausea. We have too many lawmakers with too many lobbyists with too much latitude for legislation.

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  2. Agreed. We need someone who will run on a platform of REPEAL, who will make it their mission to go thru the existing law base and get rid of all of the useless, pointless, out-of-date legislation.

    But unfortunately, you get a lot more press for passing a law - however stupid - than for repealing an existing one.

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