AR-News: Daily Oklahoman Slams Cockfighters Attempts to Thwart Voters

[Political Animal]

Voters wanted a statewide ban 
2004-04-06
Oklahoman Editorial


NINETY-SEVEN years after the twin territories were
merged to form Oklahoma, the cockfighting lobby wants
to split the state into hostile and friendly regions. 

Cockfighters are desperate. In 2002, voters statewide
agreed to ban cockfighting and impose a felony penalty
on the activity. Last month, the state Supreme Court
said the law created by voters is constitutional. Last
year, legislators were lukewarm to a state senator's
attempts to decriminalize cockfighting. 

The Oklahoma Gamefowl Breeders Association talks tough
but has little going its way. Leaders vow to take
their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that court
is unlikely to hear the case, much less reverse the
ban. 

State Sen. Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta, is still in the
hunt for legislation that would weaken the penalty for
cockfighting, now that enforcement of the ban has
finally begun. The association wants cockfighting by
county option, the way it's done in New Mexico (one of
only two states where cockfighting is legal). 

James Tally, president of the breeders group, says
eastern Oklahoma "is all we're interested in." Really?
We seem to recall that State Question 687 was approved
by a majority of voters statewide and that the ban was
also statewide. 

If breeders had wanted county-option cockfighting,
they should have circulated an initiative petition and
called for a public vote years ago. They can still do
this, of course, but they know firsthand how difficult
it is to get a controversial issue on the ballot. They
know because they did everything they could to keep SQ
687 off the ballot. 

Seventeen months after 687 passed, law officers are
beginning to enforce the ban. They were delayed by
court challenges that began when the anti-cockfighting
petition was filed and continue to this day. It's not
certain that enforcement will be rigid in parts of the
state where cockfighting remains popular. 

Citizens are tired of this controversy. The matter was
settled in November 2002. The people agreed that
cockfighting needed to be outlawed and that it needed
to be a statewide ban rather than a county-by-county
ban. 

Lawmakers don't need to be distracted by cockfighting
legislation. They should tell Shurden to move on. As
for the argument that the penalty for cockfighting
should be a misdemeanor, it's too soon to make that
claim. 

The day may come when the Legislature needs to examine
the penalty, based on the state's experience with
enforcing the law. But the rooster hasn't yet crowed
on that day. The statewide ban should remain in effect
unless, and until, the people vote to change it. We
doubt they ever will. 


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