The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) certainly
knows how to ring in the New Year. It celebrates by convincing
legislators to introduce the dangerous and ill-conceived Animal
and Ecological Terrorism Act (AETA). Introductions have been seen
in Washington (where the primary sponsor, Sen. Stevens, is the
state chair for ALEC), Arizona, and South Carolina. WA S6114,
SC H4439 and AZ H2367 were all prefiled for the legislative sessions
that just started. In December 2002, ALEC's Criminal Justice Task
Force endorsed the model as a way to get at animal rights and
environmental organizations working for positive change, by playing
upon the current terrorism fears. The legislation's vague language
and increased penalties for violent crimes are already covered
under existing laws, and are designed not to protect hunting,
fishing, livestock farms, and animal research facilities but to
suppress legitimate environmental, animal rights, and family farm
advocacy. The Act defines an "animal or ecological terrorist
organization" as "two or more persons with the primary
or incidental purpose of supporting any politically motivated
activity… intended to obstruct, impede, or deter any person
from participating in a lawful animal activity" or in "mining,
foresting, harvesting, gathering, or processing natural resources."
This and other passages in the Act could be used to prosecute
mainstream environmental groups engaged in nonviolent advocacy
work. People providing support to such organizations -- even in
the innocuous form of a monetary contribution -- could also be
prosecuted. The legislation also authorizes the creation of a
"terrorist registry." This is a dangerous piece of legislation
that threatens the legitimate work of many organizations, and
does nothing to accomplish its stated purpose. AETA is a bill
concocted by corporate donors, right-wing interests, and fringe
non-profit groups who seek to silence the legitimate opinions
of citizens and well-established environmental groups. |