This week the Missouri House of Representatives voted to repeal most of Proposition B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, just five months after Missouri voters approved common-sense standards for the care of dogs in large-scale commercial breeding facilities. These politicians decided to defy the will of the voters and dismantle Prop B piece by piece, stripping away the requirements such as clean water, veterinary exams, and space for exercise, and reverting to the weak law that allowed thousands of dogs to be crammed into rows of stacked, wire cages.
The vote was fairly close, with a margin of 85-71 (like the Senate vote, which was 20-14). Twenty-six Republicans and 45 Democrats in the House voted to stop the repeal and to keep Prop B intact. Several lawmakers spoke out against overturning the will of the people, such as Reps. Scott Sifton, D-96, Eileen McGeoghegan, D-77, Margo McNeil, D-78, and Jill Schupp, D-82, and offered amendments to restore some basic animal welfare standards, such as space requirements and making sure cages are cleaned once a day. Their amendments were voted down by legislators who essentially wanted complete deregulation for puppy mills, but we are grateful to these representatives who stood up and fought hard on the House floor for the will of the people to be upheld.
Not only did a narrow majority of lawmakers choose to overturn a statewide vote, but some of them even voted against their own districts. Thirteen representatives whose districts favored Prop B voted to repeal the ballot measure:
- Jamilah Nasheed, D-60, 80.8% for Prop B
- Jerry Nolte, R-33, 70% for Prop B
- Noel Torpey, R-52, 65.5% for Prop B
- John McCaherty, R-90, 62.8% for Prop B
- Kurt Bahr, R-19, 61.7% for Prop B
- Paul Wieland, R-102, 61.5% for Prop B
- John Diehl, R-87, 61.4% for Prop B
- Doug Funderburk, R-12, 60.5% for Prop B
- T.J. Berry, R-35, 57.1% for Prop B
- Terry Swinger, D-162, 56.3% for Prop B
- Paul Curtman, R-105, 54.7% for Prop B
- Bill White, R-129, 53.4% for Prop B
- Melissa Leach, R-137, 51.5% for Prop B
If you live in one of their districts, please call them at the House switchboard at (573) 751-3659 and let them know how disappointed you are that they went against their own constituents and decided to repeal your vote. You can see how your own representative voted—“aye” to repeal Prop B, or “no” to stop the repeal and keep Prop B intact—and call them through the House switchboard as well.
It’s outrageous that a handful of politicians can substitute their judgment for the wisdom of nearly one million Missouri voters who favored Prop B. It’s this type of arrogance that makes people lose faith in the political process, mistrust politicians, and question the value of even voting or participating in the first place. It’s one of the reasons a broad coalition of groups from across the political spectrum—such as The HSUS, ASPCA, Citizens in Charge, Americans for Tax Reform, and Americans for Limited Government—have filed the Voter Protection Act to amend the Missouri state constitution and require a higher threshold for legislators to repeal citizen initiatives, a protection that already exists in other states such as Arizona and Michigan. You can get involved with this effort by visiting protectvoters.com and help to qualify this constitutional amendment for the November 2012 ballot and provide greater protections for the citizen decision-making process.
The Voter Protection Act could protect citizen initiatives in the future, but Prop B is in jeopardy right now. It’s now up to Governor Jay Nixon to stop this assault on voting rights, and he has 15 days to sign or veto the repeal bill. It’s time for every person who cares about protecting dogs in substandard puppy mills and protecting the will of the people to contact Governor Nixon at (573) 751-3222, and ask him to veto SB 113.
If the repeal bill is enacted, we are prepared to immediately begin gathering signatures for a referendum to bring this issue back to Missouri voters in 2012 and allow the people to have the final say. Cracking down on puppy mills has never been easy, but the battle is far from over. Thank you for standing with us in this critical fight for the welfare of dogs.
