ALEC strikes again. Today, Idaho’s Times-News–the main news source for Idaho’s dairy region–published a scathing editorial documenting the corruption and back-room deals that led to the enactment of Idaho’s ag-gag law.
The slew of controversial and un-American ag-gag bills that are quickly and quietly advancing through states across the country is the product of a dangerous alliance between “millionaires” and “elected marionettes” headed by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC is a corporate front group whose primary mission appears to be advancing the interests of the country’s largest corporations at the expense of public health and safety, states rights, and fundamental principles of democracy. Unfortunately, Idaho is the latest state to fall prey to ALEC’s reach.
According to the Times-News, ALEC is responsible for quietly pushing through a spate of horrifying legislation across the country that would, among other things, permit students to carry guns on college campuses, permit businesses to deny service to gays, and prevent whistleblowers from documenting any and all criminal activity that occurs in factory farms and slaughterhouses.
It does so through secret meetings, back-room deals, and a membership comprised primarily of state politicians and the highest echelons of big business. The editorial board calls ALEC a “legislative dating service.”
Idaho Senator Jim Patrick, who sponsored the ag-gag law that was recently enacted in Idaho, is ALEC’s state chairman. Coincidence? Patrick introduced the ag-gag bill after Mercy For Animals documented horrifying cruelty and criminal animal abuse at Bettencourt Dairies, the largest dairy in Idaho, which happens to be in Patrick’s legislative district.
Mercy For Animals’ investigation, which showed workers beating, kicking, and even sexually abusing cows, led to criminal charges against multiple workers at Bettencourt.
Watch the Bettencourt Dairies investigation here:
But instead of strengthening laws to protect animals and increasing the penalties for animal abusers, Patrick and his cohorts swept an ag-gag bill through the Idaho legislature with dizzying speed. Governor Butch Otter then signed the bill into law, despite the fact that Mercy For Animals submitted the signatures of over 100,000 people who opposed the measure.
To learn how you can help to fight these dangerous ag-gag bills, visit MercyForAnimals.org and sign up to receive our action alerts.
