Don't let down your guard: Congress is poised to make AETA law!

Don't let down your guard: Congress is poised to make AETA law!

Dear Civil Liberties Supporter:



The elections are over, but January is still far away. Representatives who are no longer accountable to the people for their vote can still do plenty of damage.



Earlier this year, animal industry groups, corporations and the politicians that represent their interests introduced the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) in Congress. They claim that this legislation is needed to protect the animal industry from violent animal and eco-extremists. But this bill is unnecessary, and in fact, it jeopardizes the constitutional rights of all activists.


The National Lawyers Guild urges Congress to oppose this bill. If enacted into law, the AETA could label any activity causing an “animal enterprise” to suffer a profit loss as a terrorist act. For example, members of the public concerned about the growing number of homeless dogs in their community picket a local pet store selling unaltered puppies. Under this bill, the pet store owner could claim lost profits due to the picketing. The picketers could face possible federal prosecution as terrorists!



AETA has been passed by the Senate, and is now up for consideration in the House. Act today to ensure that this repressive bill does not become law. If you haven’t yet, or even if you have, use the following link to write your Representative today, and send a clear message: vote NO on the AETA.



http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/NLG/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5836



Heidi Boghosian



P.S. This is a critical moment for civil liberties. Please forward this email widely with your friends and colleagues.