Letter: Hamilton responds to letter writer's criticism

• Hamilton

DON DAVIs/STATE CAPITOL BUREAU Rep. Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake watches as Dan Greensweig says that Minnesota cities have concerns a Hamilton bill could increase governmental liability if youth athletes receive brain injuries during organized sports. Hamilton said the bill should ease legal liability.

Talk about it

The allegations leveled in a recent letter authored by Jerry Giefer couldn’t be further from the truth.

Mr. Giefer believes animal abuse may (may being the key word here) be happening on our farms, and is upset with a bill I’ve sponsored that would prevent people from tampering at an animal facility.

Producers care for their animals and most have animal welfare policy statements, a thorough training and audit plan in place to address animal abuse and neglect. If a person then chooses to violate the policy and abuse an animal, then that person will be dealt with accordingly.

The problem with a person secretly coming onto a farm and capturing video of an alleged abuser is twofold. One, they break bio-security protocols, which jeopardizes the safety of our nation’s food supply. Secondly, they are just as guilty of animal abuse and neglect, because they do not immediately report the abuse. I think the person who records it and does nothing should be prosecuted along with the abuser.

This bill protects the safety of the animal and the consumer.

While Mr. Giefer also tries to distort my record of representation, I’d like to remind readers that our recent budget agreement secured fair and equitable funding for low revenue nursing homes, as well as rural pharmacies and school districts — which have always been my top priorities.

Tags: opinion, letters, minnesota, legislature, hamilton, agriculture