SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge for the first time in U.S. history heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether animals enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings.

http://news.yahoo.com/slavery-protections-animals-judge-decide-234713082.html



smfh

2/6/2012 8:42:43 PM

2/6/2012 8:43:33 PM

Next Up: the right to marry your dog.

2/6/2012 8:44:42 PM

Quote :

"What is the world coming to?"

qft

2/6/2012 8:49:44 PM

^^ might as well make that relationship between him and your leg legal.

2/6/2012 9:12:37 PM

If there's no precedent, it could help to have one.

Hopefully the judge realized the answer is a resounding "NO".

2/6/2012 9:16:33 PM

California needs to hurry up and drop in the ocean

2/6/2012 9:30:49 PM

Who gives PETA money?

2/6/2012 9:31:38 PM

I, for one, welcome our new animal equals, and am at the forefront of the fight for eukaryotic equality

2/6/2012 9:33:19 PM

probably moron and pryderi

2/6/2012 9:33:23 PM

Fucking animals, man Next thing you know they'll be forming unions and going on strike!

2/6/2012 9:34:07 PM

and they say weed has no bad side effects

2/6/2012 9:36:09 PM

2/6/2012 9:36:32 PM

the ghost of William O. Douglas strikes again

2/6/2012 9:45:27 PM

I like animals.

This is ridiculous.

If animals get rights, they're also subject to our laws and regulations. So no hunting out of season, right?

2/6/2012 9:47:22 PM

I'm looking forward to this. I'm gonna sue the collar off Barkoff next time he chews up one of my socks.

2/6/2012 9:48:59 PM

This is all PETA, plain and simple. They went looking for the most favorable court they could find in the country. Fortunately they seem to be the only people taking them seriously.

2/6/2012 10:02:36 PM

2/6/2012 11:03:58 PM

I'm glad to hear this.
There is this dog I've been wanting to sue for a long time.

2/7/2012 12:23:49 AM

Quote :

"probably moron and pryderi "

...huh?

2/7/2012 12:29:09 AM

the longheld believe that a man's horse, oxen, and dog are his property should be more than enough to get this thrown out.

2/7/2012 12:42:22 AM

Here wego.

2/7/2012 8:02:18 AM

Does PETA leash their "pets"?

If they are the same as humans, wouldn't "leashing laws" be abolished?

Can they be cited for pooping/peeing in public now?

What tax rate must they pay?

[Edited on February 7, 2012 at 1:00 PM. Reason : ...]

2/7/2012 12:59:21 PM

and they'd also have to wear pants in order not to run afoul of public indecency laws, much less stop licking their balls and sniffing each others' butts


oh, and no sex before the age of 16

[Edited on February 7, 2012 at 1:02 PM. Reason : ]

2/7/2012 1:01:56 PM

support our pooches!

2/7/2012 1:04:41 PM

I love how the Japanese an exact translation of the first line and the first line only.

2/7/2012 1:53:29 PM

I love Animal Farm. My favorite book for explaining how corruption in government is a natural forming element.

2/7/2012 1:57:47 PM

Some lolz from the article:

Quote :

""This case is on the next frontier of civil rights," said PETA's attorney Jeffrey Kerr, representing the five orcas."

Quote :

""For the first time in our nation's history, a federal court heard arguments as to whether living, breathing, feeling beings have rights and can be enslaved simply because they happen to not have been born human. By any definition these orcas have been enslaved here.""

Quote :

"Brushing animals off as property is the same argument that was used against African-Americans and women before their constitutional rights were protected, PETA says. Shaw pointed out that argument does not translate because both women and African-Americans are people for which the Constitution was written to protect."

[Edited on February 7, 2012 at 2:00 PM. Reason : ]

2/7/2012 2:00:34 PM

doesn't peta support spay and neuter programs

if you can't force sterilization on people all willy nilly you can't do it to animals with rights

2/7/2012 2:56:18 PM

Quote :

"California needs to hurry up and drop in the ocean"

2/7/2012 3:27:07 PM

Quote :

"California needs to hurry up and drop in the ocean."

2/7/2012 3:28:00 PM

^

All the food and innovation comes from here as well as a significant portion of the US's GDP. I'd rethink that.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 4:42 PM. Reason : a]

2/22/2012 4:41:43 PM

^worthy sacrifices

2/22/2012 4:42:41 PM

HOW WOULD WE EVER INNOVATE WITHOUT CALIFORNIA!!!1!

2/22/2012 5:01:20 PM

^^

There is also the beautiful mountainous coastline and all the wine.

^

I don't know considering some of the bigger VC firms give out more money in a month than a city government's budget for a year.

[Edited on February 22, 2012 at 5:06 PM. Reason : a]

2/22/2012 5:04:31 PM

Though, an NC court just ruled that animals are property : (
I hope this CA case can swing the views.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10758794/

2/22/2012 5:59:32 PM

while i think that pets are above just simple property, i'm kinda glad that NC lawsuit came out like it did. it seems like a slippery slope kind of thing. if they did have rights, then vets would need malpractice insurance, and nobody could afford vet care without pet insurance, and pet insurance would end up costing as much as human insurance. then i can't afford to take my animals to the vet anymore.

2/22/2012 6:04:16 PM

Quote :

" Does PETA leash their "pets"?"

PETA doesn't want people to be able to have pets. They believe animals should all be completely free.

2/22/2012 6:19:38 PM

2/22/2012 6:21:30 PM

holy jeez, that's hilarious

2/22/2012 10:43:28 PM

hahaha i lol'd for reals

2/22/2012 10:50:30 PM

I'm going to go ahead and be that guy:

PETA is not against having pets. PETA is against a) any animal breeding for the sake of pet-keeping while animal shelters are over-flowing, b) taking animals from the wild as pets and c) inhibiting pets in such a way that they cannot engage in normal behaviors necessary for mental and physical health (e.g. barking, claw-sharpening, chewing, etc).

2/22/2012 11:09:25 PM