On Sunday, in Hamilton on "Ag Gag" bill: whistleblowers taping animal abuse "just as guilty" of abuse as abuser, Bluestem looked at Representative Rod Hamilton's response to criticism of his "Ag Gag" bill which would prohibit taking pictures, recording video or taping audio of livestock and crops without the producer's permission.
Now Hamilton's critic responds in Writer says he didn't distort Hamilton's record:
I found Rod Hamilton’s response to my letter laughable.
Under both bills (SF 1118 and HF 1369) no person (persons) is allowed — without written consent — to even take a picture of any animal, such as a cow, horse, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian or any animal maintained by an animal facility including a farm, slaughter house, CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation), research facility, pet store or any place of exhibition, making this bill the most overreaching bill ever introduced in Minnesota history. You don’t have to take my word for it. Read for yourself at “Project Vote Smart.”
I am still baffled as to how I could have possibly distorted Hamilton’s voting record when I obtained all the information from a national website that tracks the voting records of federal and state legislature. Hamilton and Magnus bills are available online (SF 1118 and HF 1369) for all to see. Thank God that both bills were found to be unconstitutional by the Minnesota State Legislature, which led to the bills resounding defeat. But don’t think for a moment that this will stop these two GOP elitists from reintroducing their bills in 2012. . . .
This isn't actually what happened. Following the widespread condemnation of the bills in the court of public opinion--including pro-farming rural newspapers in areas where livestock production is a key industry like Fairmont--the bills never received committee hearings.
Photo: Rod Hamilton, "GOP Elitist" or hapless water carrier for Big Ag's bill?
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