Arkansas and the Ag-Gag bill

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=9178&catId=1

It's hard to start the day with such disturbing news but here it is. Arkansas is very close to passing the ag-gag bill which would be a direct attack on the rights of people who expose abuse in these industries. The bill allows the owners / operators of these industries to charge whistleblowers who expose indecencies in their industry. Basically, all of the hard work undercover activists do to expose animal cruelty will be under attack. 

It's most alarming that any state would want to stop the exposure of shady activities. Why in the world would you want to penalize someone for standing up to something that is so obviously wrong? This ruling doesn't apply only to the animal industry either, nursing homes, hospitals, and schools will also fall within this ruling. Anyone who attempts to expose activities that reflect badly on the company will risk being persecuted by the company itself. 

This ruling is going to deter people from speaking out against injustices for fear of being persecuted. These "whistleblowers" are the reason that so much undercover abuse has been exposed and without them, indecencies in these industries will go unrecognized. Sadly, this is the will of the government in Arkansas.

Does this not imply that this must happen often? The solution to dealing with all of the problems is to gag the people who are exposing it? That's hardly a solution! How about thanking them for exposing problems that would otherwise go unnoticed? What a disgusting idea to think that people who fight for what's right within their industries would have to fear persecution for speaking out. Why not attack the problem versus attacking those who expose it?

I am really hoping this bill doesn't make it all the way. It's a scary thought to say the least.


HAPPY VEG