Politician Opposes Banning Animal Fighting Because We Don't Ban Human Fighting
By Jason Lisk
Steve King, Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa, is the leading opponent of humans fighting in MMA and professional boxing. Or wait, maybe he is just opposed to laws related to animal protection. I’m confused. Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview.
When it’s “a federal crime to watch animals fight or to induce someone else to watch an animal fight, but it’s not a federal crime to induce somebody to watch people fighting, there’s something wrong with the priorities of people that think like that.”
In a vacuum, of course, most people would agree that human rights should be promoted over animal rights, and we should not treat animals better than humans, though most would believe in humane treatment. There are a variety of views along the spectrum and at the extremes of both ends of that. Of course, King’s comparison is ridiculous for any number of reasons related to free will and choice, as well as the nature of each type of “fighting” and the aftermath and results for the losers. I look forward to Steve King’s corresponding consistent views on the Penn State Scandal and child protection laws in general, on the basis that adult humans are allowed to have sex. Making a similar statement about our priorities would make just as much sense there–which is to say it makes no sense.