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Wednesday, June 29, 2022
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Ballot title certifi ed for revived animal cruelty initiative
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — A controver-
sial voter initiative in Oregon
that would remove exemp-
tions for farming and ranch-
ing under the state’s animal
cruelty laws is being revived
for another run.
Proponents of Initia-
tive Petition 3 — named the
Abuse, Neglect and Assault
Exemption Modifi cation and
Improvement Act — took
another step toward qualify-
ing for the 2024 general elec-
tion after being issued a cer-
tifi ed ballot title on June 13.
IP3 is essentially a reboot
on Initiative Petition 13,
which was fi led last year for
the 2022 election. It calls for
amending Oregon’s animal
abuse and neglect statutes,
abolishing
longstanding
exemptions for agriculture.
The result would make it
a crime to slaughter livestock
for food, while also banning
common animal husbandry
practices such as branding
and dehorning cattle. Artifi -
cial insemination would fur-
thermore be considered sex-
ual assault of an animal, a
Class C felony.
Exemptions for hunting,
fi shing, rodeos, pest control,
scientifi c research and wild-
life management would like-
wise be stripped away under
the the proposal.
According to the “Yes on
IP3” campaign website, the
laws would retain exemp-
tions for killing or injuring
animals in cases of self-de-
fense and providing veteri-
nary care.
David Michelson, a Port-
land-based animal rights
activist and lead organizer
for the campaign, said IP13
failed to garner enough sig-
natures for the 2022 ballot
because, “unlike the claims
some have made that we
receive funding from the
likes of (George) Soros or
(Bill) Gates, this is a very
grassroots initiative that had
started with very few team
members.”
“Since we started this
process in November 2020,
we have steadily grown
in support and are hope-
ful of our chances for qual-
ifying in 2024,” Michelson
said in response to ques-
tions emailed by the Capital
Press.
Petitioners fi led IP3 on
March 16. It is largely the
same as IP13, but with two
George Plaven/Capital Press
Holstein cows eat feed inside the dairy barn at Tilla-Bay Farms
in Tillamook, on Oregon’s North Coast.
additions, Michelson said.
First, he said IP3 would
remove additional exemp-
tions for livestock and
farmed animals under ani-
mal neglect statutes requir-
ing they have access to “ade-
quate bedding, adequate
shelter and other minimum
care provisions.”
Second, the initiative
would make it so that anyone
convicted of animal cruelty
could not own any animal
for 5-15 years, depending on
the severity of the crime.
While the attorney gen-
eral did certify the ballot title
for IP3, supporters are not
yet approved to start circulat-
ing the petition. Those who
commented on the draft bal-
lot title for IP3 may appeal
the certifi ed title to the Ore-
gon Supreme Court. Appeals
are due June 28.
If approved, the cam-
paign would need to collect
112,020 signatures to place
IP3 on the 2024 ballot.
As it was with IP13,
farming, ranching and hunt-
ing groups fi ercely oppose
the measure and are prepar-
ing to push back against it.
Tami Kerr, executive
director of the Oregon Dairy
Farmers Association, said
IP3 would put dairies and
cattle producers out of busi-
ness, hurting rural communi-
ties statewide.
“I know how hard our
producers work, my fam-
ily included. It’s personally
off ensive,” Kerr said. “As
crazy as this is, and as neg-
ative as it would be to our
rural communities, I would
hope that a lot of our elected
offi cials would speak out in
opposition to it, our state
senators included.”
Cattle and calves ranked
as Oregon’s second-most
valuable agricultural com-
modity in 2020, worth
approximately $587.8 mil-
lion. Milk ranked as the
fourth-most valuable agri-
cultural commodity, at
$557.3 million.
“We love our local
food,” Kerr said. “We have
award-winning products all
over the state that this would
have a negative impact on.”
Michelson said the cam-
paign recognizes the need
for economic security, sus-
tenance and self-reliance in
rural Oregon. He suggested
that current subsidies for ani-
mal agriculture may be redi-
rected to help farmers tran-
sition to other plant-based
crops, or providing farm-
ers with a universal basic
income or guaranteed jobs
program.
“We believe a world can
exist where both human
and nonhuman animals can
co-exist without relying on
the violation of one anoth-
er’s basic right to life,”
Michelson said. “There are
many diff erent strategies we
can use to get to that world,
and I do not think there is
only one good solution.”
Once successful in Ore-
gon, campaign leaders say
they hope to see similar
initiatives introduced in
all 50 states.
Bentz says he never asked colleague to pursue pardon
By LES ZAITZ
Oregon Capital Chronicle
WASHINGTON — U.S.
Rep. Cliff Bentz said Friday,
June 24, that he was unaware
that a colleague had recom-
mended a presidential pardon
for his Jan. 6, 2021, vote to
challenge the 2020 election
results in Pennsylvania.
Bentz, Oregon’s lone
Republican in Congress, was
one of 138 representatives
who objected to counting
the Pennsylvania election
results in the 2020 presiden-
tial race.
Witnesses told a congres-
sional investigating commit-
tee on Thursday, June 23,
that a handful of U.S. rep-
resentatives sought pardons
from then-President Donald
Trump.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks,
R-Alabama, fi ve days after
the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S.
Capitol wrote to the White
House because “President
Trump asked me to.”
Brooks
recommended
Trump grant general pardons
to “every congressman and
senator who voted to reject
the Electoral College vote
submissions of Arizona and
Pennsylvania.”
Brooks said he expected
Democrats “with perhaps
some liberal Republican
help” are “going to abuse
America’s judicial system by
targeting numerous Republi-
cans with sham charges.”
In response to written
questions, Bentz said through
a spokesman that he had
never considered requesting a
pardon and hadn’t researched
the matter. He said he didn’t
authorize Brooks to represent
him in a pardon request.
“I have never even spoken
to Rep. Brooks,” Bentz said.
They both participate in
the Sportsmen’s Caucus in
The Observer, File
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, speaks to a group of residents
during a meet-and-greet Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, at Brother
Bear Cafe in La Grande. Bentz said he never considered
or asked for a presidential pardon for voting against
Pennsylvania results.
the House, their offi cial web-
sites show.
Bentz said he knew noth-
ing of the letter until it
became public on June 23.
“I was made aware of it
in the same manner as every-
one else — when the media
began talking about it,” he
said.
Bentz, a former state leg-
islator and an Ontario attor-
ney specializing in water law,
had been in offi ce just a few
days when Congress took the
formal step of counting elec-
toral votes in the presidential
election. The counting was
disrupted by rioters and more
than 700 people have been
charged with federal crimes
since then.
Republicans joined in
Trump’s eff ort to overturn
the election results showing
Joe Biden won.
Pennsylvania was a key
to the strategy to deliver the
election to Trump by disput-
ing results in several states.
In a statement after his
vote opposing the Pennsylva-
nia numbers, Bentz explained
he didn’t think the election
process in that state passed
constitutional muster. He
said he concluded that after
he and his staff researched
the matter. He was troubled
that state offi cials, including
the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court, were allowing mail-in
ballots to be counted.
He said that process “con-
tributed to a widespread loss
of faith by many Americans
in the integrity of the 2020
election — including many
in my district. Such a viola-
tion of our Constitution must
be discouraged in the stron-
gest terms possible.”
According to the Philadel-
phia Inquirer, 10,000 ballots
postmarked by Election Day
but received afterward were
set aside and not included in
Pennsylvania’s vote count.
In a later interview with
the Malheur Enterprise,
Bentz said he didn’t realize
that those 10,000 votes had
not in fact been included in
the Pennsylvania results. Lit-
igation contesting the Penn-
sylvania results ended when
the U.S. Supreme Court
declined to consider an
appeal.
Bentz said on June 24 he
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stands by his statement given
after his Pennsylvania vote.
He had said then that he
shared frustrations of his con-
stituents over the 2020 elec-
tion and “I will do my best to
address their concerns.”
He didn’t share what steps
he had taken in the past 18
months.
Instead, he said, “We are
awaiting proposals from the
Judiciary Subcommittee on
the Constitution, Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties.”
Bentz represents Ore-
gon’s 2nd Congressional
District, which includes all
or part of 20 counties includ-
ing Baker, Union and Wal-
lowa counties.
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