FOXSYLVANIA

– – Warning:  Some Adult Topic Matter. The Supreme Court has been asked to rule on a law with furry implications which involves video depictions of animal cruelty. The disputed statute was used to prosecute a Virginia man who sold videos of pit bull fights.

The law originally was created in 1999 due to rightful congressional worries over “crush” videos, which, I’m horrified to say, depict women pounding high heels into small animals to appeal to an extremely sick and sadistic sexual kink.  Civil liberty groups say that the statute is overly broad and could leave to prosecutors’ discretion whether to go after films that show hunting and bullfighting; I’ve found such videos objectionable as well, but it boils down to what is considered animal cruelty, and how broadly one defines it.

The justices have indicated that Congress went too far in its attempt to protect animals from abuse…note that Justice Scalia is an avid hunter.  I regret that civil liberties and animal rights groups have found themselves at odds over this one, a case which may have unfortunate and far-reaching implications, and may be construed as a step backwards…