Gary Francione on Indy Media Live!

Gary Francione is an American legal philosopher. He is the Distinguished Professor of Law and Scholar of Law & Philosophy at Rutgers School of Law-Newark
Francione is known for his work on animal rights theory, and was the first academic to teach it in an American law school. His work has focused on three issues: (1) the property status of animals, (2) the differences between animal rights and animal welfare, and (3) a theory of animal rights based on sentience alone, rather than on any particular characteristics.
He is a pioneer of the abolitionist theory of animal rights, arguing that animal welfare regulation is theoretically and practically unsound, serving only to prolong the status of animals as property by making the public feel comfortable about using them. He argues that non-human animals require only one right: the right not to be regarded as property, and that the moral baseline of the abolitionist approach is veganism, the rejection of the use of all animal products. Francione accepts the tenets of Jainism, and particularly the Jaina doctrine of non-violence, or Ahimsa, linking it to veganism and animal rights. It is this belief in non-violence that makes him non-supportive of direct action. Francione believes that animal rights can and should be achieved through non-violent protests.
Gary Francione is the author of The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation (2010); Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation (2008); Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (2000); Animals, Property, and the Law (1995); Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement (1996); and, with Anna E. Charlton, Vivisection and Dissection in the Classroom: A Guide to Conscientious Objection (1992). (www.abolitionistapproach.com)




Important Announcements!

Voters still have through next Tuesday to register for upcoming elections.
- October 4, 2010 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is distributing informational cards describing voters' rights and urging voters to register before next Tuesday's deadline.

State Board of Elections: sbe.virginia.gov 864-8901 Toll Free: 800 552-9745




Seventh District Congressional Candidates
Will Appear in Public Forum Monday, October 11

Two of the three candidates for the Seventh District Congressional seat will speak at a public forum at 7 p.m. Monday, October 11, at the Tuckahoe Public Library, 1901 Starling Drive, off Parham Road in Henrico County.
Appearing at the forum will be Independent candidate Floyd Bayne of Chesterfield County and Democratic candidate Rick Waugh of Louisa County.
The Tuckahoe forum is the only remaining scheduled opportunity before the November 2 election for the public to hear or question the Seventh District candidates. Sponsors of the forum are the League of Women Voters of the Richmond Metropolitan Area and the Richmond First Club.
Congressman Eric Cantor was invited to participate in the forum but declined.