A public hearing will be held on HJR 17, the so-called Freedom in Agriculture Act on February 15th, at 8 am in House Hearing Room 7.
As the Sheriden Express newspaper recently noted, this is also another indirect attack on Proposition B. What this Act states is that the citizens could no longer bring about any initiative related to animals. This includes anything related to hunting, fishing, livestock, and even domestic pets, such as cats and dogs.
I love how the agricultural committees want to deem themselves the only people fit in the state to determine what is best for animals in this state. Considering the absolute bias in the committees, and the fact that the group is openly disdainful of Missouri voters, I shudder to think at what abuses they would bully through the state legislature—all based on scientific findings of course.
Not only would the Freedom in Agriculture Act render Proposition B unconstitutional, it would also render past laws related to animals passed by citizen initiative as unconstitutional. That means we would also see the return of dog and cock fighting—also outlawed by citizen initiative almost two decades ago.
This would also mean we could no longer bring about a citizen initiative in the future that is even remotely related to animals. No other industry or category of law is so encumbered in our state Constitution.
Again, a reminder: the meeting on HJR 17 is a public meeting: all are welcome to attend and express their views on this latest excrement to come out of Jefferson City.