UARC News and Events >> 20 February 06

[news-events at uarc.com]

Hi Everyone,

Here is some news of the goings on in the Utah Animal Rights Coalition. In This E-Mail:

  * Calendar of Events
  * Dr. Steven Best
  * Legislature

Happy Presidents Day!  To be removed from this mailing list, follow the instructions at the bottom.


### CALENDAR OF EVENTS ###
  ( UARC lists other groups' events in our calendar as a service to the community, for solidarity with others fighting for animal liberation.  PETA, VFS, ARM and Ching Farm are not affiliated with UARC. )

Monday, 20th (today)
------------
- Ching Sanctuary cooking class at the Sugarhouse Wild Oats
- 7:00 PM - UARC Steering meeting at The Bridge (512 W. 200 S.).  All are welcome.


Wednesday, 22nd
---------------
- 1:30 PM - High school leafletting.  Meet at The Bridge to carpool to a to-be-decided High School where you will help pass out animal rights leaflets and/or CDs.  Contact Jason (jasonh at uarc.com) for more details.


Thursday, 23rd
--------------
- 12:30 PM - "Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?" - Dr. Steven Best, at SLCC Skylight Lounge (see below)
- 6:30 PM - "State Repression and the Patriot Act" - Dr. Steven Best, at Sam Weller's Bookstore (see below)


Friday, 24th
------------
- 7:00 PM - "Tactics in animal rights" - Dr. Steven Best, at the U of U Den room, Union Bldg (see below)


Saturday, 25th
--------------
- Ching Sanctuary cooking class at the West Jordan Wild Oats
- 12:00 Noon - VFS fur demo at L'Ours Blanc furs


Sunday, 26th
------------
- 5:00 PM - SOAR weekly meeting


### DR. STEVEN BEST ###

This Thursday and Friday, Dr. Steven Best, PhD, will be in town, giving three presentations.  Dr. Best is the Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso, and has published numerous books and articles on philosophy, culutral criticism, social theory and animal rights.  He's also one of the few people who were banned from the United Kingdom following the 7 July 2005 London bombings for reasons of "fomenting and justifying terrorist violence".  For more information about Dr. Best, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Best

  Thursday:

  - Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?
    at the Salt Lake Community College South Campus, skylight lounge
    12:30 pm

  - State Repression and the Patriot Act
    at Sam Weller's Bookstore, 254 S. Main St.
    6:30 pm

  Friday:

  - Tactics in Animal Rights
    at the University of Utah Union building, Den room
    7:00 pm

We'd like to encourage everyone on this list to attend these events, and to tell others about them.  Let's make a great turnout to hear about this important issues!


### LEGISLATURE ###

Here's an update on the bills we're watching this session:

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

   Current Location:  Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
  Closeness to Pass:  65%
         Next Heard:  3-5 days
      Action Needed:  Contact the members of the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee to urge them to pass HB 61 favorably.  They'll have the bill before them soon.

  Sen. Waddoups, R - mwaddoups at utahsenate.org
  Sen. Evans, R - bevevans at ubtanet.com
  Sen. Fife, D - ffife at utahsenate.org
  Sen. Hatch, R - thatch at utahsenate.org
  Sen. McCoy, D - smccoy at utahsenate.org
  Sen. Peterson, R - dpeterson at utahsenate.org


* HB 95 - Individual Income Tax Contribution for Community Spay and Neuter Programs - Noel, M.
  http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2006/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0095.htm

   Current Location:  Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
  Closeness to Pass:  65%
         Next Heard:  Unknown
      Action Needed:  Nothing at the moment

This bill passed the House at a narrow margin (46-26-3), so it may be a contentious issue.
  http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/audio/index.asp?Sess=2006GS&Day=29&House=H


* 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 for House Bills
  Closeness to Pass:  35%
         Next Heard:  2pm today likely
      Action Needed:  Nothing at the moment


 ## Representatives ##

One of the more important parts of getting involved in the Utah Legislature is knowing who your representatives are.  To find these out, visit http://www.clerk.slco.org/elections/index.cfm and enter your street address.  Look for "STATE SENATE" and "STATE REPRESENTATIVE" - these are the people who are making decisions on your behalf in this legislative session, and they need to hear your opinion about the bills which they will be voting on.


### #########################################

That's it for this week.  Thanks for reading!