Legal Experts Say Crush Video Ban is Possible

The push to get a new law banning crush videos took another step forward on Wednesday in a hearing held by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. 

First, let's quickly recap. In 1999, Congress passed a law banning crush videos, which depict graphic acts of torture, cruelty, and murder against animals to cater to certain sexual fetishes. Over the next decade, production of these twisted things was just about eliminated. It was a good law, and it accomplished a lot. Until, that is, last month. Then the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in and threw the law out on Constitutional grounds.

Animal advocates were, understandably, upset. Fortunately, there were two bright spots in the 8-1 decision. First, the Court left the door open, at least slightly, for a new law that addressed the Constitutional issues while still protecting animals. Second, within 48 hours, the original law's sponsor, Elton Gallegly of California, had a new bill and 54 co-sponsors to boot.

The efforts to get a new law, sooner rather than later, are moving faster than you might expect from a Congress whose pace is sometimes glacial at best. Yesterday, several experts on Constitutional law testified before Congress as to how a law could be drafted that protects animals as well as the First Amendment. The bottom line is, it can be done.

At this point, by the way, we've actually got two bills in the House — the one sponsored by Gallegly, and a second one, the Animal Torture Prevention Act of 2010, sponsored by Rep. Gary Peters of Michigan. (I've got a couple of calls into the Gallegly's and Peters' offices and I hope to be able to give you a side-by-side comparison of the two bills in the coming weeks.)

Of course, having Constitutional law experts say a bill is possible is all well and good, but the only Constitutional law experts that matter in the end are the nine folks in black robes that struck down the original law back in April.

Nonetheless, there's plenty of good news to be found here. Legislators have moved quickly to seal up the hole in animal protection caused by the Court, and the solution is going to have an excellent chance of passing Constitutional muster when it does become law.

Photo credit: euthman