Congressman Elton Gallegly
Serving the 24th Congressional District encompasses most of Ventura County and inland Santa Barbara County.

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Senate today passed a bill by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) to outlaw animal crush videos.

The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent.

“I want to thank Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona for moving the bill quickly through the Senate,” Gallegly said. “Cruelty to animals is often the first step leading to violence against people. While the torture of defenseless animals is in itself despicable, this bill is one step toward ending this cycle of violence.”

Gallegly’s bill now heads to the President.

Gallegly first passed a crush video bill into law in 1999. Signed by President Bill Clinton, the law effectively shut down the crush video industry. After recent federal court rulings that the 1999 law was too broad, however, crush videos are back on the market.

Gallegly’s current bill, the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010, will prevent video depictions of drowning, impaling, burning and crushing of animals. After careful restructuring, both House members and senators believe Gallegly’s new bill addresses the U.S. Supreme Court’s constitutional concerns.