By JESSE McKINLEY
San Francisco may soon judge animal abusers as equal to sex offenders, listing them online, complete with home addresses and places of employment.
The bill, proposed by Dean Florez, State Senate Majority leader, would be the first nationwide, and the latest law supporting animal rights in a state which recently afforded new protections to farm animals.
Florez, Democrat, and Chairman of the Food and Agriculture Committee, said the law would help those who “have animals and want to take care of them,” a broad contingent in California, with many farms and millions of pet owners. Animal protection is a rare bipartisan issue in the state, which has bitter partisan fights and protracted budget woes.
See the rest of the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/us/22abuse.html.