stop the animal enterprise terrorism act (USA)

[ryansmithxvx]

copied from many other sources, it applies only to USA (sorry other people):

Stop Livestock Senators' Vote Monday to Criminalize Boycotts of KFC, MCD

BREAKING NEWS
Action Alert -- House Vote on AETA this Monday!

This is your ONLY chance to defeat the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (HR 4239, S3880)!

Comments

[j_maehemah]

It would NOT criminalize boycotts

[ryansmithxvx]

actually, AETA will further restrain all legal animal rights protests in the name of protecting america's vital interests. if you really think AETA isn't setting new grounds for criminalizing the AR movement, you should look into what's going on (and i mean that in the nicest way possible). the SHAC7 is a perfect example

[j_maehemah]

It's bad, but it's just not the case that this law would criminalize boycotts. It's very explicit in this bill that it would not apply to otherwise-legal activities that cause financial damage:

"`(4) the term `economic disruption'--
`(A) means losses and increased costs that individually or collectively exceed $10,000, including losses and increased costs resulting from threats, acts or vandalism, property damage, trespass, harassment or intimidation taken against a person or entity on account of that person's or entity's connection to, relationship with, or transactions with the animal enterprise; and
`(B) does not include any lawful economic disruption that results from lawful public, governmental, or business reaction to the disclosure of information about an animal enterprise;"

Lawful demonstrations are, therefore, not criminalized under this AETA.

[savagefreedom]

Regardless of what the technicalities of this bill are, as you've already states, it labels "nonviolent animal protection advocates" as terrorists and "invokes excessively harsh penalties for comparable offenses." Whether or not it creates any new criminalization (though even if the bill itself doesn't, the bill could likely be USED to), it is clearly a step in a worrisome direction, a step away from civil rights in general, as well as a step away from progress towards animal welfare specifically

[ryansmithxvx]

however, many misconstrue nonviolent protests as threatening, harassing, etc. there's all kinds of ways to make this apply. the AEPA is being used against some friends in the LA area who were simply doing peaceful protests, saying they were threatening and harassing. no they weren't; i've seen the video footage of the protests.
yet, their houses were all raided and they're being served subpoenas.