Matalin and Carville Agree: Don’t ‘Gag’ Investigators [Update: Ark. Bill Dies!]
Update: Well, that was fast! Shortly after Mary Matalin sent a personal appeal on PETA’s behalf urging lawmakers to shelve bills intended to prevent undercover investigations of factory farms, legislators in Arkansas have scrapped their proposed “ag-gag” measures.
Now, let’s keep the momentum going—if you live in California, Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, or Vermont, please tell your state legislators to drop “ag-gag” bills and protect animals, consumers, and free speech.
The following was originally posted on March 28, 2013:
Republican strategist Mary Matalin and her husband, Democratic consultant James Carville, differ on most political issues—but when it comes to legislative attempts to block undercover investigators from PETA and other organizations from revealing how animals suffer on factory farms, the couple stands united in opposition to “ag-gag” bills.
To that end, Matalin filmed a PETA appeal and sent it to Republican legislators—the primary sponsors of these measures—in Arkansas, California, Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont, highlighting the importance of PETA’s undercover work in prosecuting abusers and stopping institutionalized cruelty. After she introduces a video clip about a case that revealed routine beatings and even the sexual abuse of pigs on a Midwestern factory farm and which led to criminal convictions, Matalin states, “A meat-trade magazine called the case a ‘wake-up call’ for the industry. Unfortunately, factory farms keep hitting the snooze button, and instead of fixing the problems, they’re trying to blame the messenger.”
What You Can Do
Thanks to the support of concerned citizens, “ag-gag” bills have already been killed in several states, but we can’t rest until all lawmakers stop trying to shield lawbreakers. Please join PETA, Mary Matalin, James Carville, Bob Barker, Cloris Leachman, Katherine Heigl, and many other figures from both sides of the aisle in urging legislators to protect consumers’ right to know the truth about factory farms. If you live in Arkansas, California, Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, or Vermont, please take action.
