Page 7

Public Affairs

Main Page Schools Letters Announcements Around Town Sports Services Archives

House overwhelmingly passes Gallegly crush video bill

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed Rep. Elton Gallegly’s animal crush video bill by a bipartisan vote of 416-3.

Crush videos graphically depict the abuse and killing of animals. In 1999, President Clinton signed into law a Gallegly bill to outlaw the videos and for 10 years the industry disappeared.

“Everyone agrees that these disgusting videos must be stopped. My first bill passed the House in 1999 by a bipartisan vote of 372-42 and by unanimous consent in the Senate and was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton,” Gallegly told his colleagues today during House debate on the bill. “The Supreme Court ruled in April of this year that the 1999 law was too broad, but indicated it may consider a law that is more narrowly drafted.”

The bill passed by the House today is designed to address the court’s concerns.

“Based on the testimony of constitutional experts at the May 26^th Crime Subcommittee hearing, I worked with members on both sides of the aisle to craft legislation that is narrowly focused on prohibiting crush videos,” Gallegly said.

After 10 years of being out of business, crush videos are back on the market, Gallegly noted, adding that it’s important to have a strong, constitutionally sound bill to eliminate the market for crush videos for good.

The Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010 would prevent video depictions of drowning, impaling, burning and crushing of animals.

“Violence is not a First Amendment issue; it is a law enforcement issue,” Gallegly said. “While the torture of defenseless animals is in itself despicable, numerous studies also show cruelty to animals is often the first step leading to violence against people. Ted Bundy and Ted Kaczynski tortured or killed animals before killing people. The FBI, U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice consider animal cruelty to be one of the early warning signs of potential violence by youths. This bill is one step toward ending this cycle of violence.”

Gallegly’s bill now goes to the Senate.

7-22-10

Rep. Gallegly thanks Australia for finding Abby Sunderland

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) today called the Australian ambassador to the United States, the Hon. Kim Beazley, AC, to thank him for Australia’s role in finding 16-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland of Thousand Oaks.

Gallegly also called Abby’s parents, Laurence and Marianne Sunderland, to assure them his office remains committed to helping clear any obstacles to Abby’s return.

In addition, Gallegly thanked the U.S. State Department, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard for their roles in finding Abby.

“The Australian government took it upon itself to charter a Qantas Airbus A330 to fly out to the Indian Ocean and locate Abby,” Gallegly said. “They have asked for no compensation in return for their act of compassion for a 16-year-old girl in distress. They are also coordinating her rescue by boat. These actions are greatly appreciated and should be publicly noted.”

After being contacted by the Sunderland family Thursday, Gallegly, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the State Department, the Office of the Defense Secretary, and the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure a coordinated search and rescue effort was undertaken.

“We are all very grateful Abby was located quickly and is apparently unharmed,” Gallegly said. “We look forward to having her reunited with her family soon.”

6-13-10

The Fillmore Fire Department would like to remind residents during the winter season to be prepared for flash flooding and land slides in areas with a high propensity for such events. Because these events allow for very little advanced notification, it is imperative that residents be prepared for such situations.

Before the Storm Hits

1. Develop an Emergency Disaster Plan with your family. Information on creating a disaster plan is available at www.fillmorefire.com
2. Stay informed of current and future weather conditions via your local news channel, or local radio stations. Your level of preparedness may be dramatically improved with a few days notice.
3. Identify potential home hazards and know how to secure or protect them before a flood strikes. Be prepared to turn off electrical power when there is standing water, fallen power lines, or before your evacuation. Turn off gas and water supplies before you evacuate.
4. Sandbag areas historically known for flooding and/or unpredictable water flow. A limited supply of emergency sandbags are available at the City of Fillmore Public Works Yard (711 Sespe Place, Fillmore.) These sandbags are for emergencies only. Sandbags may be purchased at most any hardware store or home improvement center.

During the Storm

1. Monitor the radio and/or local news station for updates on the storm, traffic conditions, and evacuation orders.
2. Prepare to evacuate to a shelter or to a neighbor's home if your home is damaged, or if you are instructed to do so by emergency personnel. If you are in an area historically known for flooding, evacuate before circumstances prevent an unsafe evacuation.
3. Keep in mind that rises in water levels during flash floods and debris flows may occur much more rapidly, and may be significantly larger, than those produced when the watershed is not burned.
4. Pay extra close attention to driving conditions while operating your vehicle. With torrential rainfall overwhelming available drainage systems, unpredictable debris and water flow across streets and highways is possible at any given time.
5. Report any hazardous conditions you observe to local authorities.

                             Emergency Contact Numbers
                     Life Threatening Emergencies Dial 911
             Ventura County Sheriffs Department: 805-524-2233
        City of Fillmore Fire Department: 805-524-0586 or 805-384-1500
                   City of Fillmore Public Works: 805-524-6717
                    Southern California Edison: 1-800-611-1911
              Southern California Gas Company: 1-800-427-2200
            Caltrans Highway Information: 1-800-427-ROAD (7623)

Winter Season Preparedness

Before the Storm Hits

During the Storm

Winter Season Preparedness

Before the Storm Hits

During the Storm

Winter Season Preparedness

Registered sex offenders in California would have to disclose their e-mail addresses, websites and instant messaging user names to police under a bill approved by the state Senate.

Sen. George Runner says offenders already must provide their physical addresses to local law enforcement, so it makes sense that they share their electronic addresses as well.

Runner, a Republican from Lancaster, says New York already has a similar law.

The use of social networking sites by sex offenders recently became an issue in the case of John Albert Gardner III, who pleaded guilty to murdering two San Diego County teenagers. He created a MySpace page in violation of his parole for an earlier molestation conviction.

Runner's bill, SB1204, passed Thursday on a 24-0 vote. It now goes to the Assembly.

RUNNER RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR’S ‘MAY REVISE’ OF STATE BUDGET

SACRAMENTO – Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) today released the following statements in response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s May Revise:
On Taxes:
“The governor’s plan does not create or raise taxes. That’s good news for working Californians. The administration figured out that raising taxes is not the answer. For proof look no further at the effect last year’s $13 billion tax increase had on California’s economy: Revenues are down.
On Reduced Spending:
“This is a tough time for all Californians including state government. The difference is, California families have made sacrifices in the past few years; state government has continued to spend beyond its means. It’s time for California Legislature and Governor to pass a budget that’s balanced and realistic.
On Jobs:
“Californians are eager to get back to work, and reducing the unemployment rolls is the path to economic recovery. State Government must get out of private sector’s way if we are to achieve this goal.
On Prison transfer:
“Moving non-violent inmates from state prison to county jails is not necessarily bad policy. The question is: How will public safety be affected in our local communities? How will local government handle the influx of prisoners? What kinds of alternative custody will local law enforcement provide that ensures safety for families? How will these inmates be selected and how many will be transferred? And what method will the state use to reimburse counties?
“If a thousand state prisoners are moved to a county jail, we want to make sure they serve their full terms and that the move doesn’t bump another thousand local inmates completely out of the system. We want to make certain the lesser offenders are strapped to GPS or other means of custodial oversight.
“The concept deserves a great deal of scrutiny for the sake of public safety in our neighborhoods.”

5-19-10

             JESSICA’S LAW INSPIRED PLACEMENT OF GPS ON
          SEX OFFENDERS; THEN PAROLE BLEW OPPORTUNITY

      SACRAMENTO – Sen. George Runner (R- Antelope Valley) stated that while Jessica’s Law inspired the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to place GPS on all paroled sex offenders, a recent report by California’s Inspector General shows that Parole missed several opportunities to arrest paroled sex offender John Gardner, admitted rapist/killer of two San Diego girls.
      “Jessica’s Law gave law enforcement an invaluable tool in GPS,” Runner said. “But parole officers can’t just place GPS on the parolee and ignore the data that it generates. It makes the whole process pointless. But that’s what they did in the case of Gardner and it’s outrageous.”
      Yesterday, California’s Inspector General David R. Shaw released a lengthy report that shows had Corrections responded to Gardner’s parole violations, he may have been sent back to prison “making it impossible for him to murder the two young girls and commit the attempted sexual assault.”
      Runner said that Jessica’s Law, which was approved by voters in 2006, requires paroled sex offenders released after Nov 2006 to wear GPS devices. However, Corrections, inspired by Jessica’s Law, went ahead and strapped GPS devices on parolees released before Nov 2006.
      “Unfortunately, Corrections only did half of its job,” Runner said.
      Since the tragic murders of Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, the Governor’s administration has established a policy that requires parole agents to periodically review GPS data for parolees such as Gardner. However, this policy is still considered “deficient” by Shaw who recommends that Corrections “could be more effective it if used the GPS system’s zone-monitoring capacity to a greater extent and realigned some of the responsibilities for reviewing the alerts that the zones produce.”

6-4-10