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Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Update
Update >> AETA passes House, is signed by President
There is a bipartisan effort underway in the House to secure passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) when Congress returns after the election to finish its work on must-pass legislation. Representatives Thomas Petri (R-WI) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) have written a letter to their House colleagues, urging them to pass the AETA before the final adjournment of the 109th Congress. The Senate passed its version of the AETA by unanimous consent on September 30. S. 3880 would give federal law enforcement agencies the tools they need to protect medical researchers against the use of threats, harassment, and violence by animal rights extremists. The House must also pass this important legislation before it adjourns for those protections to be put into place.
Reps. Petri and Scott, who are co-sponsors of the House version of the legislation, wrote to their colleagues to refute opponents’ claims that the AETA would threaten First Amendment rights of free speech and lawful protest. Language clarifying the issues raised the bill was first introduced was included in S. 3880, the legislation that was unanimously passed by the Senate. Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) — who represent distinct ends of the political spectrum — cosponsored the bill. Inhofe had held a series of hearings on animal rights and eco-terrorism. Feinstein got involved after a prominent UCLA neuroscientist at announced in August 2006 that he would abandon his research with animals to spare his family further harassment.
S. 3880 included the following language to address concerns raised by the American Civil Liberties Union and others:
Nothing in this section shall be construed — (1) to prohibit any expressive conduct (including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration) protected from legal prohibition by the First Amendment to the Constitution
The Senate-passed bill also contained language to exempt whistleblowers and lawful boycotts from penalties for those who cause economic damage to animal facilities. The legislation states that penalties for economic damage do not apply to "any lawful economic disruption (including a lawful boycott) that results from lawful public, governmental, or business reaction to the disclosure of information about an animal enterprise."
The AETA will protect medical researchers and their families without infringing on citizens’ rights to conduct peaceful protests. It is time for the House to stand up for medical research and pass the AETA.