Second attempt by Representative Justin Humphrey dies in House without a vote

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, USA, April 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A second maneuver by Oklahoma State Representative Justin Humphrey to gut the penalties in Oklahoma’s comprehensive anti-cockfighting law and to decriminalize some aspects of cockfighting appears to be dead.

The measure, SB 1522, was not acted upon last night by the House, and in failing to clear that chamber by a deadline of April 28th, it is no longer viable. That was the fate of his original pro-cockfighting bill, HB 3283, which would have made cockfighting violations the price of a speeding ticket.

“Local law enforcement won’t waste time making arrests of perpetrators of animal cruelty if the law provides for anemic penalties,” said Drew Edmondson, the former four-term Oklahoma Attorney General who defended the law in state court after voters approved an anti-cockfighting ballot measure in 2002. “Cockfighting is a legally and morally settled matter in Oklahoma, and this debate initiated by Rep. Humphrey is not one that Oklahoma should engage in any longer.”

Edmondson serves as the national co-chair of the National Law Enforcement Council for Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional in a unanimous decision after the law was challenged. Congress also made cockfighting and associated activities a felony. Most states banned cockfighting in the 19th century, and over the decades, the states and the Congress methodically outlawed it everywhere and made it a felony. No state legislature has weakened its anti-cockfighting law in decades.

An Animal Wellness Action investigation unearthed two dozen cockfighting operators illegally shipping birds to Mexico, the Philippines, and some 20 other nations. Records obtained from the Guam Department of Agriculture revealed that Oklahoma cockfighters shipped nearly 5,000 fighting birds to Guam over the last five years; this is contraband, and these people have no respect for the law.

“Kudos to Oklahoma lawmakers for recognizing a pro-cockfighting bill as a horrible idea for the state,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. “If this misguided legislation had passed, Oklahoma would become a magnet for cockfighters, conducting animal cruelty, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and attempting to corrupt law enforcement.”

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Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

The Center for a Humane Economy is a non-profit organization that focuses on influencing the conduct of corporations to forge a humane economic order. The first organization of its kind in the animal protection movement, the Center encourages businesses to honor their social responsibilities in a culture where consumers, investors, and other key stakeholders abhor cruelty and the degradation of the environment and embrace innovation as a means of eliminating both.

The Animal Wellness Foundation is a Los Angeles-based private charitable organization with a mission of helping animals by making veterinary care available to everyone with a pet, regardless of economic ability. We organize rescue efforts and medical services for dogs and cats in need and help homeless pets find a loving caregiver. We are advocates for getting veterinarians to the front lines of the animal welfare movement; promoting responsible pet ownership; and vaccinating animals against infectious diseases such as distemper. We also support policies that prevent animal cruelty and that alleviate suffering. We believe helping animals helps us all.

Marty Irby
Animal Wellness Action
+1 202-821-5686
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