UARC News and Events >> Free film Saturday & Animal Cruelty bill update

[news-events at uarc.com]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to send people a quick update, as there's an important event happening on Saturday.  A normal, longer email will be going out on Sunday.


### PEACEABLE KINGDOM SCREENING ###

 Where: Free Speech Zone (2144 South Highland Drive)
  When: Saturday, Feb 11th, at 7:00 pm
  Cost: Free!
   Who: People for Peace and Justice

Peaceable Kingdom is a widely acclaimed film exploring the interconnected life journeys of farm animals, former farmers, and animal rescuers struggling against an out of control industrial system.

http://www.tribeofheart.org/pk.htm

Created by Tribe of Heart, the creators of The Witness, this is an important film for anyone who cares about animals to witness.  Please come by!  A representative of the Ching Farm Animal Sanctuary will be giving a talk after the movie.


### LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ###

* HB 61 - Criminal Penalty for Animal Cruelty - Wyatt, S.
  http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0061.htm

   Current Location:  Senate Secretary
  Closeness to Pass:  50%
         Next Heard:  Week or two in Senate committee

This bill saw some contention this week on the floor of the house, and was almost killed before it could become a law.  Luckily the House realized their mistake before it was too late.

On Tuesday, Rep. Harper (R) proposed to amend the bill by removing "third degree felony" and inserting "class A misdemeanor".  This would effectively destroy the bill, as the primary focus of Rep. Wyatt's efforts have been to create a felony animal cruelty classification.  With a vote of 38-33-4, the amendment passed, and it looked grim.

Wednesday, Rep. Holdaway (R, Taylorsville), proposed to reconsider the amendment.  Since he had voted for the amendment the day before, this was in order.  Following another floor discussion, the Tuesday amendment was defeated on a vote of 48-27-0.

Earlier today, the bill was heard the last time in the House, as it passed onto the Senate with a vote of 48-24-3, unamended!

Audio of the floor debates can be heard at http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/audio/index.asp?Sess=2006GS&Day=0&Bill=HB0061&House=H

This makes it VITAL that everyone contact your Senator about this bill!  There is clearly going to be an attempt to prevent this bill from going into law, and we need to do what we can to see it through.

Please visit this page http://se15.utahsenate.org/perl/spage/distmapal.pl and find out your Senator.  Contact them!  Let them know how you feel on this very important issue!


* HB 328 - Eliminating the Age Requirement for Hunting Small Game - Oda, C.
  http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0328.htm
* HB 329 - Age Amendments for Hunting Big Game - Oda, C.
  http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0329.htm

   Current Location:  House Third Reading Calendar
  Closeness to Pass:  35%
         Next Heard:  Late next week (at position 102-3)

These two bills, which will lower the hunting age in Utah, were passed from committee on Tuesday with only one dissenting vote (Rep. Biskupski).  They are likely to see strong support on the floor, so it's important that we let our legislators know how we feel about these bills.

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Thats it for now!