Politics

Florida must stop selling cats, dogs at pet stores | Commentary

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No one walks into a retail store motivated by a wish to support cruelty to animals. However, that is the impact of purchasing a puppy mill-bred dog at a pet store. We need legislation to halt such sales in Florida for the good of animals and the protection of consumers.

Imagine being lured into an Orlando pet store by an adorable, tiny, eight-week-old puppy. The sales associate assures you the puppy came from a wonderful breeder and is healthy as can be. If the price tag of several thousand dollars makes you balk, they are quick to sell you on “low interest” financing.

You end up buying the puppy and your whole family instantly falls in love. But this fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare when you discover the puppy is sick, requires expensive veterinary care and your financing deal carries an extremely high interest rate.

Only then do you realize you have unknowingly bought a puppy from a mill.

Florida State Rep. Sam Killebrew

It should not be that way, and Florida State Rep. Sam Killebrew (R-District 41) wants to put an end to such cruel and demoralizing outcomes. House Bill 45 would prohibit Florida pet stores from selling puppies and kittens. Rep. Killebrew’s measure would codify into state law an approach already enacted by nearly 80 cities and counties in Florida.

Anyone who doubts the need for H.B. 45 in our state need only look at the situation in Orange County. Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office filed a lawsuit against a Petland location in Waterford Lakes following 19 complaints from customers. According to complaints, the pet store allegedly led consumers to believe the puppies were healthy, high-quality animals and fit for sale. “In some instances, puppies died soon after being purchased or suffered from congenital or other hereditary disorders,” said Moody in a press release.

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Judge refuses to hold John MacArthur, Grace Community Church in contempt without trial

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A California judge has sided with California Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church in yet another hearing over the church’s decision to hold indoor public worship services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pastor John MacArthur

On Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled that MacArthur and his Sun Valley-based church are entitled to a full trial on the merits of their challenge against state and local orders prohibiting indoor church gatherings before they can be held in contempt for violating the orders.

For nearly three months, the county has sought to shut down the church and hold MacArthur in contempt for repeatedly violating the order. However, attorneys at the Thomas More Society have argued that the governor’s orders violate several provisions of the state constitution.

This week, Beckloff ruled that the courts must first decide on the constitutionality of the shutdown orders before the county can pursue contempt charges.

Due to the state’s shut-down orders, the contempt trial is not expected to take place until early 2021.

The court scheduled a hearing to be held on Nov. 13 regarding the scope of the church’s challenge. A preliminary injunction was issued earlier this month by Beckloff prohibiting the church from conducting, participating in or attending any indoor worship services until the case is resolved.

Lawyers for MacArthur and Grace Community applauded the judge’s decision Thursday.

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The Unlikely Kennedy Who Ended the Kennedy Dynasty

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Rep. Joe Kennedy III speaks outside his campaign headquarters in Watertown, Mass., after conceding defeat to Sen. Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary. | AP Photo/Charles Krupa

For most of the 60-year history of the Kennedy dynasty, it’s been easier to imagine its last act as coming in a burst of triumph, a spasm of violence or a dream-shall-never-die promise of enduring hope. On Tuesday, however, what might be the final note of this political symphony was written not in glory or tragedy, but in numbers, the sad prose of politics.

Sen. Ed Markey 55.6 percent, U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III 44.4 percent.

In a Democratic primary. In Massachusetts.

The 74-year-old Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1972, was supposed to be the type of proud, uncharismatic incumbent whom Kennedys routinely dispatch to retirement homes or ambassadorships. Joe Kennedy’s grandfather, Robert, famously ended the 18-year political career of New York Sen. Kenneth Keating, a 64-year-old Rockefeller Republican, without even moving to the state until shortly before the election. In a 1962 debate, Massachusetts Attorney General Edward J. “Eddie” McCormack Jr. told political neophyte Edward Moore Kennedy that if his name had been Edward Moore, his Senate candidacy “would be a joke.” The joke, of course, was on Eddie McCormack, who lost the Democratic primary, 69-30.

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