July 17, 2017

Federal judge rules filming farms is protected right

Truth Out - In a major victory for animals and supporters of free speech, a federal judge has ruled that Utah's law making it illegal to film what happens at farms and slaughterhouses is unconstitutional.

These laws -- which have become known as ag gag laws -- are blatant attempts to hide what's happening on farms and criminalize anyone who attempts to bring the truth to light. They started popping up in the early 1990s, when North Dakota, Kansas and Montana all passed legislation that make it illegal to enter facilities that are closed to the public, or to take photographs, or audio and video recordings.Since then, attempts to pass similar laws have been tried and defeated in a number of states, but a few have unfortunately succeeded in passing various versions of them.

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