Court Rules Against North Carolina's AG-Gag Laws

​worldanimalnews.com/court-rules-that-undercover-investigations-whistleblowing-are-protected-under-the-first-amendment-in-north-carolinas-ag-gag-law/

A court in North Carolina ruled that undercover investigations & whistleblowers were protected under the First Amendment, striking down North Carolina's ag-gag laws. The Anti-Sunshine law extended past animal agriculture, including undercover videos / investigations in daycares and nursing homes. Under the law, journalists and undercover investigators were susceptible to being sued if they publicized information that came from undercover investigations that included videos, conversations with employees, and documented abuse / neglect on animal ag farms and in nursing homes. 

Ag-Gag laws are designed to conceal the truth. The only reason an ag-gag law exists is to protect the animal agriculture industry from being exposed. These laws are laughable in their intent because despite what they claim the laws are aimed to do, they are only designed to keep the abuse and atrocities committed from being made public. Why? If the public finds out about these instances of abuse, neglect, or cruelty, then their opinions of said industry would be affected. These laws are designed to protect these industries from being exposed to the public. My question is, if you're operating a business to the highest standard, then why exactly would you be concerned about someone filming or gathering information? If you've nothing to hide, then let them in. Let them film. Let them show the world that you operate as per welfare standards or within the spectrum of human decency.

The fact is, they likely are NOT operating within set standards. Why would there be a law that punishes someone for exposing abuse rather than a law that tackles these abuses before they're exposed? If you're knowingly protecting people who are engaging in practices that are outside of the acceptable standards, that paints a pretty bleak picture about what North Carolina's real ambitions are. It's easier for them to blame and persecute those who expose the abuse, rather than those who are committing it. It's easier to penalize the person who films workers kicking, punching, spitting on, or tackling farm animals, as opposed to addressing those welfare issues at the forefront. Obviously, this extends to daycares and nursing homes. Why would the government want to hide what's happening to our children or our elderly unless the were concerned that there were things happening that were not acceptable and would not be well received by the general public?

These laws are designed to inhibit transparency. Kind of like, if you don't know about it, you can't care about it. When we've gotten to a point where we'd rather hide abuse than expose and address it, we're in serious trouble. People in North Carolina SHOULD be concerned that their government is hiding information from them. Would your opinion of an animal agriculture industry change if you knew they abused the animals prior to slaughtering them for food? Would you be outraged if you found out that nursing home or daycare employees were abusing or neglecting your loved ones? Of course you would be, and that's why ag-gag laws exist. Not to address problems, but to hide them/

I'm pleased that North Carolina's Anti-Sunshine law was struck down. Address the short-comings in these industries and you won't have to worry about a whistle blower. If workers are following welfare standards set out for their industry, then there shouldn't be a darned thing to worry about. My hope is that this law being struck down sparks a conversation among the people of North Carolina. Your government is trying to hide things from you and it's information regarding your loved ones and the food that makes it to your plate. You SHOULD care about why they're trying to hide things from you.

HAPPY VEG