Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Horseplay
Warning - This post may offend.
A Seattle area farm was raided after a man died from injuries sustained while having sex with a horse. The county Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the death was accidental and the result of having sex with a horse.
A surveillance camera picked up the license plate of the car that dropped the man off at the hospital, which led detectives to the farm and other people involved, said sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart.
Deputies don't believe a crime occurred because bestiality is not illegal in Washington state and the horse was uninjured, said Urquhart. But because investigators found chickens, goats and sheep on the property, they are looking into whether animal cruelty — which is a crime — was committed by having sex with these smaller, weaker animals, he said. The farm was talked about in Internet chat rooms as a destination for people looking to have sex with livestock, he said.
For its part, the Humane Society of the United States intends to use the case during the next state legislative session as an example of why sex with animals should be outlawed in Washington.
Currently, thirty-three states ban sex with animals. Now, this got me thinking, how many states have scrambled to ban same sex marriage in the last few years? The answer 38. So, it is legal to have sex with animals in more jurisdictions in the United States, then it is to marry someone of the same sexual orientation. In fact, in Washington State, you can have sex with a horse, however, you can't have sex with a virgin even on her/his wedding night nor marry someone of the same sexual orientation even if you love them. Find a random farm and screw a horse, no sweat. Pete wanting to marry John - are you kidding me - that is deviant.
The list below shows the states who have outlawed same sex marriage (blue font identifies banned same sex, but are ok with bestiality) and the second list shows states banning Zoophila (the red font shows banned bestiality, but are ok with same sex marriage).
Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington DC and Wisconsin.
FYI - In Canada, federal law covers us all and it is illegal to have sex with animals. As it is in the United Kingdom and New Zealand - hold all sheep jokes.
There are states trying to right this wrong. In Missouri, a Republican Congresswomen Catherine Hanaway attempted to ban beastiality in 1999, but the law died on the order papers after second reading. What is really interesting about her case is that the state did not allow the practice until 23 years ago. It was then that state law encompassing sex with an animal or someone of the same gender was invalidated by the courts. Lawmakers quickly re-banned gay sex but never addressed the animal issue. Homosexuals must be more of a threat to the traditional family than box turtles.
Not everyone in Missouri agreed with Hanaway. Two sociologists and sex researchers at Indiana University wrote a letter to the Legislature calling on law makers to kill the legislation. The letter included some fascinating claims:
No one can argue about the objective harm resulting from a behavior like rape. Such harm arises from the absence of consent and the trauma that accompanies and follows from the act. Opponents of a human having sex with an animal use a similar standard. While what constitutes an animal's consent is difficult to define, people are well aware when an animal is non-consenting. Our research suggests that forcing sex on an unwilling animal is rare among adult zoophiles (as well as being seen as a behavior that would be extremely unsafe since the person is not dealing with a defenseless being).
The question of consent is usually conflated with the question of harm, which we believe to be the better question. Zoophiles appear to be extremely caring and concerned for their animal(s) and people who know them would be hard put to claim abuse. Implicit in HB 1658 is that sex with an animal in itself constitutes abuse. We believe that this merely reflects a negative attitude toward such a non-traditional form of sexuality. Disgust should not be a criterion for legislation; only objective evidence of harm should be, and there are sufficient laws against cruelty to animals to handle such cases.
We can confidently say that if laws such as HB 1658 are passed, they cannot be enforced. Further, they have the potential for creating witch hunts, and of ruining the lives of random individuals unlucky enough to be caught. These legal efforts waste time that needs to be spent on more important matters. Remember that less than half a century ago, all states but one criminalized homosexual acts because many people were uncomfortable with the idea of sexual behavior with members of the same sex. This destroyed the lives of many citizens. Please do not make this same mistake by pursuing HB 1658 any further.
Susan Michaels, co-founder of local animal-rights organization Pasado's Safe Haven, sums up the whole bestiality topic beautifully. "It's animal cruelty behind closed doors," Michaels said.
Susan, let us be perfectly clear about one thing - it is animal cruelty with or without the door closed.
A Seattle area farm was raided after a man died from injuries sustained while having sex with a horse. The county Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the death was accidental and the result of having sex with a horse.
A surveillance camera picked up the license plate of the car that dropped the man off at the hospital, which led detectives to the farm and other people involved, said sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart.
Deputies don't believe a crime occurred because bestiality is not illegal in Washington state and the horse was uninjured, said Urquhart. But because investigators found chickens, goats and sheep on the property, they are looking into whether animal cruelty — which is a crime — was committed by having sex with these smaller, weaker animals, he said. The farm was talked about in Internet chat rooms as a destination for people looking to have sex with livestock, he said.
For its part, the Humane Society of the United States intends to use the case during the next state legislative session as an example of why sex with animals should be outlawed in Washington.
Currently, thirty-three states ban sex with animals. Now, this got me thinking, how many states have scrambled to ban same sex marriage in the last few years? The answer 38. So, it is legal to have sex with animals in more jurisdictions in the United States, then it is to marry someone of the same sexual orientation. In fact, in Washington State, you can have sex with a horse, however, you can't have sex with a virgin even on her/his wedding night nor marry someone of the same sexual orientation even if you love them. Find a random farm and screw a horse, no sweat. Pete wanting to marry John - are you kidding me - that is deviant.
The list below shows the states who have outlawed same sex marriage (blue font identifies banned same sex, but are ok with bestiality) and the second list shows states banning Zoophila (the red font shows banned bestiality, but are ok with same sex marriage).
Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington DC and Wisconsin.
FYI - In Canada, federal law covers us all and it is illegal to have sex with animals. As it is in the United Kingdom and New Zealand - hold all sheep jokes.
There are states trying to right this wrong. In Missouri, a Republican Congresswomen Catherine Hanaway attempted to ban beastiality in 1999, but the law died on the order papers after second reading. What is really interesting about her case is that the state did not allow the practice until 23 years ago. It was then that state law encompassing sex with an animal or someone of the same gender was invalidated by the courts. Lawmakers quickly re-banned gay sex but never addressed the animal issue. Homosexuals must be more of a threat to the traditional family than box turtles.
Not everyone in Missouri agreed with Hanaway. Two sociologists and sex researchers at Indiana University wrote a letter to the Legislature calling on law makers to kill the legislation. The letter included some fascinating claims:
No one can argue about the objective harm resulting from a behavior like rape. Such harm arises from the absence of consent and the trauma that accompanies and follows from the act. Opponents of a human having sex with an animal use a similar standard. While what constitutes an animal's consent is difficult to define, people are well aware when an animal is non-consenting. Our research suggests that forcing sex on an unwilling animal is rare among adult zoophiles (as well as being seen as a behavior that would be extremely unsafe since the person is not dealing with a defenseless being).
The question of consent is usually conflated with the question of harm, which we believe to be the better question. Zoophiles appear to be extremely caring and concerned for their animal(s) and people who know them would be hard put to claim abuse. Implicit in HB 1658 is that sex with an animal in itself constitutes abuse. We believe that this merely reflects a negative attitude toward such a non-traditional form of sexuality. Disgust should not be a criterion for legislation; only objective evidence of harm should be, and there are sufficient laws against cruelty to animals to handle such cases.
We can confidently say that if laws such as HB 1658 are passed, they cannot be enforced. Further, they have the potential for creating witch hunts, and of ruining the lives of random individuals unlucky enough to be caught. These legal efforts waste time that needs to be spent on more important matters. Remember that less than half a century ago, all states but one criminalized homosexual acts because many people were uncomfortable with the idea of sexual behavior with members of the same sex. This destroyed the lives of many citizens. Please do not make this same mistake by pursuing HB 1658 any further.
Susan Michaels, co-founder of local animal-rights organization Pasado's Safe Haven, sums up the whole bestiality topic beautifully. "It's animal cruelty behind closed doors," Michaels said.
Susan, let us be perfectly clear about one thing - it is animal cruelty with or without the door closed.
# posted by Shaky @ 7:12 p.m. 
