Your Views for December 21
Kudos to Hirono for FIGHT Act support
A tip of the hat to U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono for supporting efforts to crack down on illegal cockfighting and dogfighting.
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She recently cosponsored the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, House Resolution 2742, in Congress to enhance U.S. capacity to deter and interdict these crimes.
Cockfighters strap knives or gaffs to the birds’ legs to enhance the bloodletting in the fighting pits, while the dogs use their biting ability to tear flesh and deliver severe wounds to other dogs.
Earlier this year, a horrendous mass shooting occurred at the close of a cockfighting event in Waianae, Oahu, that left two people dead and three others injured. Illegal animal fighting is almost always bound up with illegal gambling, money laundering, narcotics trafficking and other crimes.
Hawaii is at the center of the cockfighting trade in the Pacific Rim, with fighting birds shipped from the state to the Philippines, Vietnam, Guam and Northern Marianas islands.
Cockfighting derbies occur regularly and typically with impunity in Hawaii. It’s only because Hawaii has lax state laws against cockfighting, and that the federal anti-animal-fighting law is not actively enforced on the islands that these organized animal-cruelty crimes persist.
It’s our hope that state lawmakers make cockfighting a felony, as dogfighting already is. Hawaii’s other lawmakers serving in Congress would help Hawaii by following Sen. Hirono’s lead and cosponsoring the FIGHT Act.
Wayne Pacelle
President, Animal Wellness Action
Washington, D.C.
Taking away an important decision
Almost 350,000 U.S. teenagers under the age of 18 become pregnant each year. Approximately 82% of said pregnancies are unintended, and over 60% of them end up being aborted.
Many people believe that if you get pregnant, you should keep the baby regardless of the situation. I would like to help you understand how abortion is simply a moral decision that women should be allowed to make on their own.
From world statistics, it is known that as of last year, nearly half of all occurring pregnancies were unintentional, roughly 121 million. What about the girls who kept the babies? What happened to their lives? Were they able to continue living their lives normally and happily?
When one gets pregnant by accident, why would they want to keep the baby? What if they can’t afford to raise a child of their own?
Women can also be pressured by their parents, friends and relatives to keep the baby. Women could be shamed for their unwanted pregnancies, which only makes things worse for them in the end. These women forced to keep the babies are more likely to develop depression and anxiety. The big question really comes down to whether one wants to keep their baby, and if they are ready to do so.
Twelve states have already made abortions illegal, with some of them being Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This means that if a woman didn’t want to keep her baby, she would either be forced to keep it or leave the state in order to get an abortion.
Why take away a decision that has proven to stop so many problems?
Malaquias Oliveros Rios
Honokaa
