MO's Prop B Under Attack

I'm so sick of the lies going around Missouri right now about Proposition B. Most people who advocate repeal (talking citizens here) want it done for reasons that have nothing to do with the bill. They've been lied to and they perpetuate the misinformation. Obviously, there are special interests at work, of course. No surprise there. Missouri is known as the puppy mill capital of the United States. Not to mention I think some people just don't know what a puppy mill is.

Missouri voters passed Prop B by 52%. Unfortunately, the Republicans in my state are working in favor of the puppy mills, by lying and saying that Prop B has something to do with livestock, farmers, food, and even saying that it would harm legitimate dog breeders (it won't).

What is a Puppy Mill?

• Breeding females are bred until they die, forced to have one litter after another littler after another litter
• Puppy mill breeders have upwards of 50 dogs at any one time, or
• Having 10 breeding females with the purpose of selling the puppies at any one time
• Dogs are kept in cages, often too small to turn around in
• They often do not have access to food OR water
• Few, if any, of the dogs ever receive vet care or vaccinations
• Many puppies bought from these breeders are sick, even with the deadly and highly contagious Parvovirus

What Prop B Does for Dogs

• Only applies to domesticated dogs or mixed breeds over the age of six months that meet Puppy Mill standards as mentioned above
• Mandates sufficient food & clean water for all dogs
• Mandates necessary veterinary care as deemed acceptable by American Veterinary Medical Association
• Mandates sufficient housing for dogs, including shelter from elements
• Mandates sufficient space to turn & stretch freely, lie down, & fully extend his/her limbs
• Mandates regular exercise
• Mandates adequate rest between breeding cycles
• Makes puppy mill cruelty a class C misdemeanor unless
• The defendant has plead or been found guilty of violating the bill on a separate occasion, making it a class A misdemeanor

Prop B DOES NOT

• Put numerical limits on how many dogs anyone can own when not using them for breeding & profit
• Apply to any retail pet store
• Apply to animal shelters
• Apply to hobby or show breeders who have more than 10 breeding female dogs
• Apply to dog trainers who don’t breed & sell dogs for use as pets
• Limit hunting
• Limit the breeding, raising, or selling of hunting dogs
• Apply to farms
• Apply to livestock of farms
• Apply to animals other than dogs

The proposed changes to Prop B can be found here. The changes more or less gut the thing, and make it impotent. It also changes unnecessary things for no apparent reason. I can't imagine why they decided to change the definition of "pet" (for purposes of the bill) from "species of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, or resultant hybrids" to instead say simply, "domesticated animal."

What the Proposed Changes to Prop B Mean for Dogs

• Changes the definition of "pet" for the purposes of the bill from only referring to dogs so that it will instead refer to ALL domesticated animals
• Reduces the period of rest a female dog will have between litters, from no more than 2 litters per 18 months to no more than 2 litters per 12 months, thus creating more harm to the dogs
• Removes the option of a site visit to the facility for veterinary care
• Removes the regulations for what constitutes a violation of the law
• Removes restrictions on the amount of dogs, in all, you are allowed to have for breeding and selling purposes.
• Removes majority of the regulations on dog nutrition and access to food & water

In short, the changes gut the bill and render it impotent. Those of us in Missouri who realize what a great bill this is and don't want it messed with are fully aware, however, of what the Republicans in our state are really doing. They're giving us a choice on which way we want the bill rendered useless. The choices are quite simple; Repeal it, gut it, or just don't fund it. But, the idea of actually letting it stand and do what it was enacted to do? That's out of the question.

Missouri, like I said before, is known as the Puppy Mill Capital of the United States. Prop B is the first step toward changing that title. Do our lawmakers really want Missouri to continue being known for animal cruelty? Surely, Missouri can carry on a better legacy than that!

Politics Gone Wild

Its normal in any country for the politicians and other leadership to be unable to satisfy all of the people all of the time. That's something that can't be got away from. And that means there will always be civil and/or political unrest of some sort. That's normal. That's healthy for a nation.

However, what isn't healthy for a nation is the way that our politicians and our citizens, especially (at the moment) on the Right Wing, are behaving. Violent (or violently tinged) rhetoric, and not-so-subtle violent imagery is not a good idea. At all. And, I'm not saying the Left Wing is at all innocent. Throughout history we can see where the Left has also had their moments they shouldn't be proud of. One example is the 70s, when people (mostly from the Left) were staging violent riots and overturning cars. One doesn't have to go back that far, but its a prominent example and its one that brings up images in a person's mind even if they didn't live during that time. It just so happens that today, right now, it is the Right who is doing it. That doesn't mean that in a few years it won't be the Left again.

But, this isn't about who is right or wrong. We shouldn't be playing the blame-game. Its just getting people on the defensive. Everybody, party-regardless, needs to stop and check themselves. From the highest-ranked politicians to the lowest class of citizens. We need to stop and think before we speak. We need to stop and think before we add an image to our website or picket sign or whatever it is we're adding images to.

Obviously nobody has told any unstable people to go out and commit murder. Or, if they did, they were probably not speaking literally (I'm looking at you, Bill O'Reilly). Nobody who is sane wants to really incite murder and mayhem. And nobody can know all of the time what is going to set off an unstable person and prompt them to commit murder.

But...that doesn't mean that the Right is innocent this time. I think that there was an obvious disregard for common sense on the part of a lot of politicians, citizens, and organizations that are Right Wing. This needs to stop. I'm not even going to give examples. They're obvious. Everyone knows what they are, what they were, and everyone will know in the future what they are when people use them again. This is not okay. This is something that is obviously going to set off some nutjob.

The tragedy in Tuscon is one that was unable to be stopped. Since 2008, there have been many attempts that have been in the news that have been caught in time and stopped, tragedy avoided. But, each time something set them off, and it was usually something obvious. But, it goes ignored because people on the Right get defensive (as people on the Left would, too, if things were turned around).

We need to stop getting defensive. We need to stop trying to justify or explain it away. We need to stop, we need to look, we need to admit (even if reluctantly) that yes...this is something that could have been avoided this time. Or at least, for these reasons. Maybe that guy, or those others in the past since 2008, would have still been set off in another way. That's entirely possible. But, we will never know, will we? Because, there was irresponsibility all around.

One thing that we had to learn growing up was taking responsibility not JUST for our actions, but also for our words. Our words can cause harm just as much as our actions can. That doesn't mean this man, or those who were stopped in the past, are innocent and should be given some sort of pass. Definitely not. Unstable or not, they committed or were on their way to commit, a terrible crime. They should be locked away forever and have the key thrown away. But, we also must take responsibility for inciting the violence in the first place, as well.

It doesn't matter who started it, it doesn't matter who finished it. It doesn't matter who committed the violence, or who just spoke the words. It needs to stop. And it needs to stop immediately. Right now. Yesterday, even. Last week. It needs to stop. There is no excuse.

And, its no secret that I'm a Liberal. But, to be quite honest, if it was my own side doing it today I would be saying the same thing about them, to them. I would be ashamed of my political base and the actions and words that they are taking. I would not become less Liberal for it, but I would definitely call out my own side and say, "This is ridiculous and enough is enough. Calm down, take a chill pill, and act your age."

End Rant.