Meeting Reminder + Urgent Action Alert!

[Body of Animal Rights Campaigners @ UCF]

Body of Animal Rights Campaigners
	BARC UPDATE
1. BARC Meeting! 2. URGENT ACTION: AETA! 3. Amendment 3... 4. AR Conference in Orlando! 1. Next BARC Meeting What? BARC General Meeting When? Tuesday, November 14th 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Where? Computer Science Bldg. Room109 After rescheduling 2 meetings for Halloween and then for Election day, we are finally back on track for another BARC meeting! We will be planning a couple of upcoming campus events before the semester is over, so we would like everybody's input. See you there! 2. URGENT: Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act What? AETA House Vote When? Monday, November 13th Call by 6pm! Perhaps the single greatest legislative threat to the animal rights movement is decided on Monday evening. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) would make it so that *non-violent* animal activists would be classified as "domestic terrorists." Obviously, this is absurd! Our government is trying to fast-track this bill through, and it was already passed through the Senate unchallenged. PLEASE call your local representatives immediately after you read this email because if it passes through the House as it did in the Senate, it could severely hinder our actions to help animals. Click on the link below, find your representative and take the next 5 mins to send a quick email, leave a message on their phone, fax a letter, or do all three! If you do only one thing today, let it be this. BREAKING NEWS Action Alert -- House Vote on AETA this Monday! This is your ONLY chance to defeat the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (HR 4239, S3880)! In a late night move on Friday, AETA was added to the House Suspension Calendar for THIS Monday! This underhanded fast-track maneuver, like the one in the Senate, means that AETA will not have any debate... only an up/down vote. Contact your Representative this weekend and Monday morning! Identify your House Rep: name, fax, e-mail, and phone number at http://www.house.gov Then, use our sample letter and/or the talking points below to... Be a triple hitter for the animals: 1. Call direct or use the switchboard 202-225-3121 2. Fax 3. E-mail Remember, all contact info is at www.house.gov. Talking Points! "As your constituent, I strongly urge you to: (1) vote NO on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (HR4239, S 3880), which is currently on the suspension calendar for 11/13 to be voted on Monday after 6:30pm, and (2) to contact Rep. Sensenbrenner to remove the bill from the suspension calendar. The measure is much too important to pass without discussion." The bill must be opposed for the following reasons: * AETA is opposed by more than 150 animal protection, social justice, and civil liberty organizations including: National Lawyers Guild, Humane Society of the U.S., ASPCA, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the League of Humane Voters. Click here for opposition list. * AETA deserves a hearing to afford its many opponents a voice. * AETA denies equal protection under the law and limits freedom of speech and assembly. * AETA unfairly brands as 'terrorists' nonviolent animal protection advocates. * AETA unfairly brands as 'terrorism' nonviolent civil disobedience and undercover investigations. * AETA invokes excessively harsh penalties for comparable offenses. * AETA is excessively broad and vague by covering innocent parties. * AETA may authorize unwarranted wiretapping of animal protection advocates. * AETA has a chilling effect on all forms of social justice and life affirming advocacy. * AETA interferes with prosecution of real terrorism against the American people. 3. Amendment 3 Recap and Some Election Wins for the Animals As you probably know, Amendment 3 passed with 57.7% of the vote (unfortunately!). Many individuals and organizations worked together, some for the very first time, to defeat this harmful amendment. I want to thank everyone who participated in our campaign against Amendment 3. Many of you leafleted at festivals and early voting. Many of you wrote letters to the editors of Florida newspapers and several were published. Many of you took off on Election day to work the polls and hold signs. Thank you. Laura Goodhue from ACORN pointed out these positive results from our efforts: * Voters from across the political spectrum worked together on this campaign to defend a foundation of our democracy. We should continue to work together against similar attacks on the citizen initiative process. * We ran an excellent voter education campaign, and in the process gained the support of most editorial boards and papers across the state * Throughout this campaign, voters sent a strong message to the legislature that there is vast opposition against restrictions on citizen initiatives. * The amendment did not pass with 60%! Amendment 3 DID NOT pass in two counties. Pinellas and Volusia. If you are interested, you can visit the Division of Elections website and this link to check on how your county did in the election: http://enight.dos.state.fl.us/ Just click on Constitutional Amendments and then on the name of the ballot title to see county results. Of course, we will not give up the fight for the animals. They need our voices, perhaps even more now. On the positive side, if you have not already heard, the animals won in Michigan and Arizona. Michigan voters restored the 100-year tradition of protecting the state's official bird of peace, the mourning dove, from target shooting. The vote was 68 percent to 32 percent. And in Arizona, voters cast their ballot in favor of Proposition 204, which bans gestation crates for breeding pigs and veal crates for young calves. The vote was 61 percent in favor and only 39 percent opposed. 4. Compassion for Animals Action Symposium In Orlando... What? Animal Rights Conference When? January 26 - 28, 2007 Where? Regal Palms Resort 2700 Sand Mine Road, Davenport, Florida (around 30 miles SW of downtown Orlando) ** NOTE** BARC is looking into getting funding from SGA to cover the registration costs for some of our members to attend this conference. Obviously, January is a little while off, but if you are genuinely interested in attending, please email the co-presidents so we can get a rough estimate of how many will be going. The sooner you respond, the better your chances will be of getting funding if we are approved. This conference is seriously one of the best ones out there, and it's practically in our backyard... 6th ANNUAL COMPASSION FOR ANIMALS ACTION SYMPOSIUM: Presented By: VegEvents *Join us and representatives from Florida and national organizations in brainstorming sessions *Share ideas and mingle with long-time activists and newcomers in Animal Ethics and Environmental Issues *Participate in Lively Group Discussions and Project Planning *Network with Like-Minded Individuals and Form Friendships that will last a Lifetime! Symposium Schedule: Fri. 1/26; Registration, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m., Festive Reception, 7 pm - ? Sat. 1/27; 9 a.m - 6 p.m. Group Discussions, Panels, Planning Sun. 1/28; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Group Discussions, Panels, Planning SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION $50.00 by Nov. 10, $65.00 by Nov. 30, $75.00 by Dec. 31 PLEASE register early . There is "limited" seating. For more information, and to see the registration form, click on the VegEvents link above. Now that you're done reading this email, contact your Rep. about the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act! Then we'll see you at the meeting on Tuesday! :) If you have a question about anything, email copres...@barcdontbite.org, and you will get a prompt response.