Activists Target U.S. Rep. Over “Eco-terrorism” Legislation—And Get Quick Results
Dec 1st, 2006 by Will Potter
Student activists in Massachusetts were so furious about the secretive passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act that they protested outside the office of their U.S. Representative demanding answers. And they got some. The headline in the local paper summed it up as “Animal protesters get results.”
Shaun Sutner of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette noted that U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern is usually a solid progressive ally in the House, but was nowhere to be found when the “eco-terrorism” bill was rushed through the House: only six lawmakers were on the floor.
Sutner reports:
“We’re not protesting McGovern. McGovern supports us on a lot of progressive issues,” said Jennifer Burt, a Clark University senior and one of the organizers of the event. “We’re just asking him to introduce a bill to repeal this law.”
By the activists’ account, they succeeded.
After meeting with members of Mr. McGovern’s staff inside his office about 1 p.m., the protesters were given a statement from the congressman pledging to work to overturn the measure, said Drew Wilson, a junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute…
“The point of the bill is that it uses the rhetoric of terrorism to send a chill through the activist community,” he said.
There’s also a very fair news broadcast from NECN (New England Cable News), the largest regional news network in the country. The screen shots on this page are from the NECN broadcast on November 29th. (My personal favorite, in my own unbiased professional opinion, being the stunning and thoughtful “Green Is The New Red.”)
Kudos to Drew, Jennifer and everyone else, and to the folks in McGovern’s office for working with them.
If others use similar tactics I wonder if we’ll see a “Member of Congress Terrorism Act,” to crack down on those extremists who have the audacity to hold lawmakers accountable.
Worcester represent!
great news!
does anyone know how to organize a rally on D.C.
after January 2007.
we need to build on the momentum of what these young
fine students did…we need to help them restore our
nations faith in democracy.
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is great news. McGovern is also my rep–I called his office about AETA and was immensely disappointed it that he didn’t vote against it. Great work on the part of these students! This is a heartening turn of events.
from the onion horoscope section; it made me laugh…
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
You will find yourself siding with Islamic extremists this week after an eco-terrorist organization claims responsibility for several car bombings.
Hi, guys!
I’m from Russia, where it is little known about civil rights. With AETA your country buys a ticket to Russia, which is so often criticized by your government regarding civil rights issues.
Hope AETA will be canceled or somewhat.
The greatest of all injustice is that which goes under the name lf law; and of all sorts of tyranny, the forcing the letter of the law against equity is the most unsuportable.-L’Estrange
wow! green is the new red. you’re, like, a celebrity, will!!
-love & resistance from colorado