I've been leafleting at the polls in Los Angeles this morning, and talking to Californians about Proposition 2. Voting here ends in about seven hours, and we will soon have an answer to the question that's been on my mind: Can animal advocates break the jinx of #2?
Of the dozens of statewide ballot measures on animal protection issues over nearly two decades, we've won more than 70 percent of the time. But we've never won a battle when it was #2 on the ballot.
In 1996, Idaho voters rejected Proposition 2 which would have banned baiting, hounding, and spring hunting of black bears. In 2004, Maine citizens rejected Question 2 which would have prohibited baiting, hounding, and trapping of bears. And in 2006, Florida voters passed Amendment 2, which animal advocates opposed because it changed the state constitution to make ballot initiatives more difficult to pass in the future.
Will Californians pass Proposition 2 to prevent cruelty to farm animals, and will we break the #2 curse? We will have that answer tonight.
