If freedom to chose how to make a living and what to buy were important, Peter Young wouldn't be able to play this fascist game.



Odgen Standard Examiner (UT)
Morgan's attempt to stifle mink protest may backfire
Sep 25 2009 - 3:07pm
http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2009/09/25/morgans-attempt-stifle-mink-protest-may-backfire

(UNEDITED) As one of the organizers of the mink farming protest
("Morgan council supports mink ranchers", September 25th, 2009), it is
our intention on November 28th to expose the cruel business of fur
farming. Morgan's amending of their ordinances to stifle this protest
begs the question: what are the fur farmers hiding?

I was sent to prison for cutting fences and releasing animals at mink
farms just like those we will be protesting in Morgan. When I carried
out these raids in the middle of the night, I did so because legal
means of affecting change had failed. While I no longer carry out such
rescues, by attempting to keep activists from protesting outside the
homes of fur farmers, Morgan officials are setting the stage for
exactly the type of "protest" fur farmers fear most: clandestine raids
of their farms, and overnight rescues of mink by the Animal Liberation
Front.

Historically, the side effect of criminalizing lawful protest is not
to keep activists away, but to give certain elements of the animal
rights movement no other choice but to directly rescue these animals
unlawfully. While the city council acted to "protect" mink farmers,
this ordinance may well have the opposite effect.

Peter Young
Salt Lake City

Thus folks who recognize that fascists shouldn't be able to demand closure of fur market are fighting back.


Odgen Standard Examiner (UT)
Morgan council supports mink ranchers, defines picketing rules
By Deanne Winterton
Sep 25 2009 - 6:41am
http://www.standard.net/topics/news/2009...picketing-rules

MORGAN — County officials are tightening picketing rules and
expressing support of county ranchers in preparation for a scheduled
mink farm protest in November.

“The basic premise is, someone may be allowed free speech rights and
may be able to protest you or what you’re about or what you’re doing,
but they shouldn’t be able to do that right in front of your house,”
Morgan County Attorney Jann Farris said.

“Your right to enjoy your house and your property outweighs their
rights to free speech. Your home is your castle, and you shouldn’t
have to put up with it at your residence.”

Using wording patterned after a similar ordinance used in Salt Lake
City, Farris drafted an ordinance that prohibits targeted picketing at
a residence. Because many mink farmers live on their farms, the
ordinance would affect a protest by the Salt Lake Animal Advocacy
Movement scheduled for Nov. 28.

“They can go to a public park, or somewhere down the road if they are
going to protest,” Farris said. “You shouldn’t have to sit in your
living room and sit and watch people who don’t like you or agree with
you walk up and down in front of your house.”

At the insistence of Morgan County council members, the draft was
changed to prohibit picketing closer than 1,000 feet from the property
line of the proposed target, instead of 100 feet. The change more
adequately mirrored the rural nature of Morgan County, council members
said.

However, if a residence is not on the same property as the mink farm,
picketers could use the public right of way for their activities.

Failure to comply with the ordinance would result in a class B
misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The ordinance was written to protect “the public health, welfare and
good order of the community,” according to the draft. Residents should
“enjoy a feeling of well-being, tranquility, privacy and enjoy freedom
from being a captive audience to unwanted speech in their home. The
practice of targeted picketing causes emotional disturbance and
distress that has the potential to incite breaches of the peace.”

“Sometimes these protest groups come in and try to stir up problems.
If we can get them out of people’s front yards, it could help law
enforcement,” Farris said. “Confrontation won’t be there if we send
them down the road.”

In addition, picketers may be required to obtain a mass-gathering
permit from county officials before staging a protest. The permit
would allow law enforcement agencies to prepare for an influx of
people on narrow county roads.

Local mink ranchers took passage of the ordinance as a sign of
support, often applauding during the council’s discussion on the
issue.

“We don’t have near enough hard-working people in this country.
(Morgan mink farmers) are very good at what they do. They stay within
the law and take abuse that is unfair,” Councilman Rodney Haslam said.
“Whatever we can do to protect them, we need to do it.”

“This is for the purpose of helping the farmers as a whole. I can be
sympathetic to your cause. You are an asset to the county and we want
to pass an ordinance to help protect you,” Council Chairman Sid
Creager said.

“I know the hardship (protests) create. In a matter of 10 to 15
minutes, an entire career gets turned upside down. That’s the last
thing we want to have happen.”

Morgan City will likely pass its own targeted picketing ordinance in
the near future, Farris said.