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Senator wants cockfights with gloves
news.com.au ^ | 1.27.05

Posted on 01/27/2005 4:27:33 AM PST by 4kevin

AN American senator hopes to revive cockfighting in the state of Oklahoma by putting tiny boxing gloves on the roosters instead of razors. The Oklahoma legislature outlawed the blood sport in 2002 because of its cruelty to the roosters, which are slashed and pecked to death while human spectators bet on the outcome. But State Senator Frank Shurden, a Democrat from Henryetta and a long-time defender of cockfighting, said the ban had wiped out a $US100 million ($129 million) business. To try to revive it, he has proposed that roosters wear little boxing gloves attached to their spurs, as well as lightweight, chicken-sized vests configured with electronic sensors to record hits and help keep score. "It's like the fencing that you see on the Olympics, you know, where they have little balls on the ends of the swords and the fencers wear vests," said Senator Shurden. "That's the same application that would be applied to the roosters." Janet Halliburton, president of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting, which led the drive for the 2002 law, said Senator Shurden was really seeking to loosen the ban. "What this is going to do is make a platform for him to continually try to amend the existing ban," Ms Halliburton told The Oklahoman newspaper. The Oklahoma State Senate will consider Senator Shurden's proposal next month.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Oklahoma
KEYWORDS: animalrights; cockfight; shurden
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To: 4kevin

This reminds me of an old Texas saying when someone’s pants are way too big. My uncle would say that looks like socks on a rooster.


21 posted on 01/27/2005 6:29:16 AM PST by dix (Remember the Alamo, and God bless Texas)
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To: 4kevin

If you want to know why Oklahoma has a Dem governor now, an Oklahoma relative of mine says the cockfighting issue's to blame. Banning it was on the state ballot last governor's race. All the hillbillies crawled out of the hollers to vote against the ban, and while they were at it they cast a vote for the Dim candidate for good measure.


22 posted on 01/27/2005 6:32:06 AM PST by Puddleglum (Thank God the Boston blowhard lost)
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To: ovrtaxt

23 posted on 01/27/2005 6:59:01 AM PST by presidio9 (Islam is as Islam does)
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To: 4kevin

Readers outside of the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Lousiana (which were the only 3 states to allow cockfighting as of 2001) and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa (all of which allow cockfighting)probably find that headline to be extremely dirty.


24 posted on 01/27/2005 7:31:28 AM PST by AuH2ORepublican (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: Puddleglum

"If you want to know why Oklahoma has a Dem governor now, an Oklahoma relative of mine says the cockfighting issue's to blame."



Having a conservative as a third-party candidate sure didn't help GOP nominee Steve Largent, either.


25 posted on 01/27/2005 7:41:07 AM PST by AuH2ORepublican (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: 4kevin
Janet Halliburton, president of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting

I KNEW Halliburton was behind this!

26 posted on 01/27/2005 8:49:44 AM PST by Garth Rockett (You're a Herman Mu-un-ster!)
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To: Popman; All

Well now let's not be too hard on the guy...there may be something to his proposal...the real hurdle of course is the development of the hardware at a reasonable cost!


27 posted on 01/27/2005 10:10:49 AM PST by mdmathis6
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