In Muzzling the Movement, lawyer Dara Lovitz presents an in-depth and
tightly argued analysis of the case of the SHAC-7. She reveals the
history behind the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, examines the
tendentious and speculative government case against the SHAC activists,
and in so doing shows how the U.S. government has deeply compromised the
freedom of speech and protest enshrined in the Constitution. The ability
to protest peacefully and to voice unpopular opinions without being
arrested and imprisoned arbitrarily are cornerstones of the U.S.
Constitution, and are the reasons why, in spite of the many limitations
imposed upon sectors of its society over the centuries, the dominant
order has been forced to change to allow people of color, women, and
others to take their place in society. Animals raised for their flesh or
body products, however, remain without even the most basic natural
rights: to move around, to associate with their conspecifics, to breathe
clean air, and to nest or wallow or graze. They have no choice but to
rely, as do all non-human animals, on human beings to speak up for them
and articulate those basic rights, as well as to challenge those who are
either indifferent to, or actively complicit in harming, their welfare.
Since the passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) in 2006,
however, the ability to document abuses, draw attention to the horrors,
and raise public awareness about the suffering of animals in factory
farms or scientific laboratories has been substantially curtailed.
Muzzling the Movement is an in-depth and tightly argued analysis of the
case of the SHAC-7, the organization whose supposed activities
ultimately led to the passage of the AETA. Lawyer Dara Lovitz reveals
the history behind the AETA, examines the tendentious and speculative
government case against the SHAC activists, and in so doing shows how
the U.S. government has deeply compromised the freedom of speech and
protest enshrined in the Constitution.
