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Update Newsletters
28 April 2010 Issue

1. Activist Feedback

2. Essay: Thoughts on the Recent Supreme Court Decision, Part 1

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

4. Prisoner Pen Pals

1. Activist Feedback

Darina, who leafleted at Winter Jam and FlyLeaf earlier this year, writes,

Jon, Chris, Jenn, and I distributed about 850 CVA booklets.

Three Awesome volunteers – Jon, Chris, and Jen – joined me. The line started forming as early as 2.5 hours before the concert. We waited for the line to be long enough to start leafleting (in case we'd get kicked out). We soon noticed another huge line coming through the connecting parking garage. With the four of us, we were able to cover all bases. I was noticed by the security and asked to leaflet further away from the venue. The rest of the team didn't get bothered by anyone. We made effort to pick up the discarded booklets during as well as after leafleting which allowed us to salvage and re-distribute a bunch. So many people were still flowing in even after the concert started that all four of us kept busy for a long time.

Rockford is not a particularly veg-friendly city, and it was evident by some reactions. Still, the reception was good, and with the four of us reaching out so many people, we were certain to reach a good number of sympathetic souls. Chris, Jon and Jenna rocked it! It was a pleasure to have such an awesome team in action, and we all felt very good about our accomplishment.

Upcoming Activist Opportunities  

Contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com  if you can to help. To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling opportunities in your area, join the CVA Calendar Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_vegetarian/  

2. Essay: Thoughts on the Recent Supreme Court Decision, Part 1

The Supreme Court recently struck down a law banning the sale of videos depicting illegal acts of cruelty to animals on the grounds that the language of the law was too vague and might be applied to legal acts [of violence against animals], such as hunting. I am not sufficiently familiar with the language of the law or the rationale for the decision to comment on whether or not the decision constituted wise application of the law or simple indifference to animal abuse. Importantly, in the majority opinion, it was noted that the Supreme Court might find constitutional a law that more clearly defined what activities videos for sale could not depict.

While many animal protectionists were dismayed by the ruling, the media largely lauded it as a defense of First Amendment free speech rights. Next week I will offer some thoughts on the importance of free speech, particularly for animal advocates, but today I’d like to present some comments by Norm Phelps, who I respect for his compassion and wisdom. Norm has written several excellent books, including The Dominion of Love: Animal Rights According to the Bible; The Great Compassion: Buddhism & Animal Rights; and The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA. In response to an animal advocacy discussion list message defending the decision on free speech grounds, Norm wrote:

I might find this argument persuasive (I am a staunch defender of free speech rights) if I thought we were competing on a level playing field and were getting a fair shake from the justices. But we are not. There is no First Amendment difference that I can see between child pornography videos and animal cruelty videos except the species of the victims. The Court had already stepped out onto that slippery slope with the child porn decision, and now they are declaring that human people are entitled to a level of legal protection that nonhuman people are not. When you take the two decisions together, the Court has defended speciesism, not free speech. No one believes that all speech is protected, including the seven justices who voted with the majority. The only real question here is: Can speech that harms animals be restricted in the same way as speech that harms human beings?

Norm asks a good question, because it can be tempting for those in power to use laws that restrict socially harmful speech (such as child pornography or animal abuse videos) in ways that restrict speech that should be protected. I will explore this further next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Standing Firm When Everyone Else Seems to Be Turning Away
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s9apr89.html 

4. Prisoner Pen Pals

Occasionally we get requests from prisoners who seek Christian vegetarian pen pals. I urge caution when dealing with prisoners, many of whom have anti-social personalities that can make them seem warm and charming but underneath is hardness of heart. If you are interested in having a correspondence with one or more prisoners, please e-mail cva@christianveg.org .

Your question and comments are welcome

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