Source: TN Newsroom
“I am going to veto the legislation”
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam released the following statement regarding HB 1191/SB 1248:
“Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Tennessee. Farmers play a vital role in our state’s economy, heritage and history. I understand their concerns about large scale attacks on their livelihoods. I also appreciate that the types of recordings this bill targets may be obtained at times under false pretenses, which I think is wrong,” Haslam said.
“Our office has spent a great deal of time considering this legislation. We’ve had a lot of input from people on all sides of the issue. After careful consideration, I am going to veto the legislation. Some vetoes are made solely on policy grounds. Other vetoes may be the result of wanting the General Assembly to reconsider the legislation for a number of reasons. My veto here is more along the lines of the latter. I have a number of concerns.
“First, the Attorney General says the law is constitutionally suspect. Second, it appears to repeal parts of Tennessee’s Shield Law without saying so. If that is the case, it should say so. Third, there are concerns from some district attorneys that the act actually makes it more difficult to prosecute animal cruelty cases, which would be an unintended consequence.
“For these reasons, I am vetoing HB1191/SB1248, and I respectfully encourage the General Assembly to reconsider this issue.”
Categories: Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Great news!!!!!
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Yay!! If the New Mexico Governor was as Brave – the horses would be safe here!! She still won’t sign an Executive Order for public safety or for human treatment of horses.
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Excellent!
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YEAH, finally the Gov. made the only responsible decision to make and he ACTUALLY did it, WE ALL THANK HIM, for a multitude of reason, it is the RIGHT thing to do…… Not JUST for the animal’s but for the consumer’s as well……This is wonderful news for a change…….
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Terrific. Good does happen!
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See…they do listen [:-)] and they are beginning to understand how important real humanity toward our cherished animals is KEY to a civilization of HUMANS we can raise our kids and the future in. Not to mention…key to a better economy. Well cared for, humanely treated animals make for MORE jobs than those abused, neglected or slaughtered.
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Awesome!!!!!!!
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Congratulations to the Governor for his wise decision to veto that terribly unjust bill, and for taking the welfare of animals into consideration!! Now we need 49 more like him to take the bold stand in behalf of those who have no way to protect themselves.
It seems to me that this is no time to rest, but we need to press forward with even more strength and determination to advocate for all animal safety and welfare issues.
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YEA!!! A thoughtful, reasonable Governor!! It surely, does pay to speak out, for what you believe is right. We must protect all of our animals.. Cruelty, abuse should not be tolerated.. Thanks, again, R. T!
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Ag gag laws are unconstitutional and have direct impact on prosecuting wrongful acts like animal cruelty and improper processing of fruits and vegetables. If agricultural industries don’t have something to hide, they don’t need this kind of legislation. The Tennessee governor doesn’t really come out and say this directly but he killing the Ag Gag Bill which is a big plus.
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You are right Pauline. If Big Ag needs invisibility then we should not buy their products. They must come out of the darkness and come clean. There are much healthier alternatives from Farmer’s Markets, Fruit Stands, local markets, and home gardening where animals are not tortured and produce is not heavily sprayed with cancer producing pesticides. Ag gags protect and try to hide bad agriculture, not consumers. We have a right to know what is in our food. Violators and animal abusers need to be punished, not rewarded.
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There’s hope! This was definitely the right answer and Gov. Haslam took the quantum leap and made the right decision. If, as he states, that Agriculture is the No.1 industry in Tennessee and he can take the initiative to do the right thing, than other states who choose to pass it are basically ignoring the unconstitutional and unethical nature of this bill. To pass such a bill into law exposes the truth and character of such people willing to do so and the bought and paid for actions of those legislators.
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To veto this legislation would support the cruelty humans inflict upon livestock and domestic animals in TN. A veto protects the ‘good ole boy network’ and how it operates, if anything works in the best interest of the animals it would be freedom to report and document any form of cruelty. The law is then obliged to investigate yet, without a report they have nothing to follow up on. No witness, no crime, I guess that is the way things have always been done in TN, everything from murder of humans to abuse of animals is okay as long as the witnesses are too intimidated to speak up. Sigh…
A sad day for the animal kingdom, and a victory for the inhumanity in man!
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Are you sure you didn’t mean to say just the opposite of what you said? Didn’t you mean to add the word “not” before the word “veto”? Do you understand this bill? It’s FOR the animals and FOR humanity. Please go back and reread the blog post and the supportive comments from anti-slaughter, anti-soring horse advocates! And then be happy. 🙂
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Think you need to read the bill again Johnic. His veto this bill “LET’s” people gather evidence aganst animal abusers WITHOUT fear of proscution to themselves. This bill would have given “the good ole boy system” the right to go after the “Whistle Blower”.
Thank you Gov Haslam for going AGAINST the “Good Ole Boys” and giving people the right to gather evidence against abusers.
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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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I hope the rest of the Governors follow Governor Haslam;s lead. Maybe he will lead the way for the rest of them. Thank your Governor Haslam.
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Thank you, Governor Haslam, and thank you to all the anti-horse slaughter grassroots. Change causes chaos, but change is happening! CA down and TN down. How many to go, four?
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There are many states passing batsh*t crazy laws right now. Many of these laws are unconstitutional and will cost the states’ residents, citizens a LOT of money in court costs; it also distracts legislative time and effort from true needs and issues in the respective states.
Look at Missouri and Kansas…crazy stuff that is going to take state attorney time and money from prosecuting real criminals.
The governor of TN knows this (Ag gag) “bill” is EXPENSIVE and takes away prosecutorial powers away from his state and the local prosecutors.
Amen for common sense…now if we can only get the other states to see their folly.
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much Thanx for taling a stand for animal AND human rights.We who protect same are deeply grateful….for many reasons……..Aloha
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This is one down and more to go. Including the Monsanto protection bill so we cannot stop Monsanto from force feeding us their pesticide infused crops even tho’ the EU has banned them. The farmer in Wisconsin Lost his case against Monsanto because he had signed a contract saying he would only replant with newly bought seed each year and did not. He decided not to. He got creamed. There will be more of this and hopefully people will fight it where ever it ‘crops’ up.
Yes, Denise, there are too many crazy bills. Two very bad bills against the buffalo in Montana were recently vetoed by the governor (which was amazing).
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Mar a little confused here…this farmer planted organic crops and Monsanto still sued? Sure seems like they are a sue happy bunch. Best to stay away from all their products! I see them at Costco and now that I have a little garden (first time in my adult life!)I’m trying to be a better consumer about such things.
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Margaret:
The Monsanto case isn’t about organic; it’s about controlling seeds (more like monopolizing), pesticides and fertilizer.
I don’t know the entire situation, but I’m sure the litigation was based on contract law. Farmers used to grow their product, take it to the mill and retain a portion of that crop for seed for another planting….that has seriously changed and big seed companies (Monsanto, et al) don’t like it when famers find other ways to get seed.
Next time you drive by a corn or wheat field, take a look at the signage…advertisement for big Ag seed companies.
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It is also a patent law thing.
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Very good, sound government on part of the governor’s decision. I’m glad to read this. Sharing.
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Thank you Governor Bill Haslam for taking this position. I admire you for supporting the welfare of our animals and I commend you for choosing not to ignore the unconstiutional and unethical nature of this bill. A man of principle, how refreshing.
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I think Governor Haslam gets the brave and courageous award! He stood up to the big boys and said NO. Unlike that woman who cowed under pressure…
And tomorrow Tues keep your eyes peeled on NBC! There’ll be network airing of Wild But not Free. A lot of advocates including Carole King took part in this. There will also be online info at NBC. Non of it is up yet, it won’t be until its aired.
This segment was suppose to air a couple weeks before the Boston bombing but got pre-empted, and then the week of the bombing it was suppose to air. But barring any unforeseen happenings tomorrow hopefully will be another HUGE day for the horses.
Please note–there will be discussion on pro slaughter. It isn’t just anti slaughter. We are hoping for a fair and balanced report. Please also watch the online segments since they will carry more info and not all links will carry the same footage.
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I thank you Governor Haslam for your position of supporting the welfare of our animals. There is way too much money being passed under the table for big business to succeed at the expense of our beautiful God given animals. It’s about time all of our Governors put their heads in the right place and support the bills in their states that protect our animals from transportation across our borders and forbids any slaughterhouses to EVER appear in the U.S. again. If we start using our monies wisely we could also keep our cats and dogs longer in order to find them new loving homes. All these animals, horses, donkeys, cats, and dogs, etc. deserve to have a loving family caring for them. May our state governors start doing what is right for our animals. IF NOT, THEY SHOULD BE KICKED OUT OF OFFICE PRONTO.
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BREAKING NEWS Channel 3 wkyc cleveland, just aired a piece on The Wild Mustangs, I tired to get the video but not posted yet , please every advocate must watch, the Lieing B—h from the BLM was on , the also showed some of the last round up where a little foal gets trampled in the trap !!!!!!!!!!!!! All in all showed a pretty concise report enough for the Public to get mad and retaliate………………… Giner was on also…………………..
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Sorry Ginger
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We just found out that NBC’s Today Show will air its long awaited segment,”Wild but not Free,” during the 7:30 a.m. half hour of the program. Please note that the Today Show airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in all U.S time zones. Be sure to tune in. (Since this is live TV, the segment could always be bumped by breaking news, but hopefully it will finally air!)
The piece will include an interview with music legend Carole King, who graciously agreed to speak to NBC on behalf of America’s wild horses at the request of AWHPC, as well as footage taken by AWHPC and other advocates of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) brutal treatment of wild horses at multiple roundups.
We are hopeful that NBC’s coverage of this issue will put a major spotlight on the plight of America’s wild horses and burros and lead to much needed reform of the BLM’s program. This couldn’t come at a more important time with 50,717 wild horses and burros in government warehousing — an all time high — and our “Step In, Sally” letter gaining momentum across America and in the halls of Congress.
Please take a few moments and watch at 7:30 am tomorrow. Then stay tuned for updates from us on how you can help make the most of this opportunity for wild horses and burros
-The AWHPC Team
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Click here to unsubscribe [ https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6931/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?Email=cat7dog2@aol.com&email_blast_KEY=1248457 ].
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.
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Thank you for the “heads up” Arlene. I just watched this segment. The BLM came off sounding reasonable, but the point was well made by an advocate that the horses are better served living in the wild – and free – rather than as captives, even if it can be benevolent (and it often isn’t).
Who was that large older man who said we should “slaughter” them, that wild horses had no “use”? I hope most viewers were disgusted by his ugly comments.
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