Posted on 08/07/2015 12:13:50 PM PDT by Ray76
Idaho's so-called "ag-gag" law, which outlawed undercover investigations of farming operations, is no more. A judge in the federal District Court for Idaho decided Monday that it was unconstitutional, citing First Amendment protections for free speech.
"Ag-gag" refers to a variety of laws meant to curb undercover investigations of agricultural operations, often large dairy, poultry and pork farms. The Idaho law criminalized video or audio recording of a farm without the owner's consent and lying to a farm owner to gain employment there to do an undercover investigation.
Other "ag-gag" laws require that animal abuse be reported within a specific time frame, a tactic animal activists say is meant to prevent them from gathering evidence of an abuse pattern rather than just a singular event.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Now about those videos obtained by the Center for Medical Progress' undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood, et al...
From US District Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s ruling:
Audio and visual evidence is a uniquely persuasive means of conveying a message, and it can vindicate an undercover investigator or whistleblower who is otherwise disbelieved or ignored. []
The effect of the statute will be to suppress speech by undercover investigators and whistleblowers concerning topics of great public importance: the safety of the public food supply, the safety of agricultural workers, the treatment and health of farm animals, and the impact of business activities on the environment.
Protected by the First Amendment, for exactly the same reason.
Notify Judge William H Orrick of the USDC for the Northern District of California
So why can’t the Planned Parenthood videos be made public as well?
So much for private property rights.
He was wrong. This judge was right.
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