Disgusting and Beyond Vile

I never thought I'd see the day where I would be in agreement with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, but yesterday was that day. In an 8 to 1 decision (Really, Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Stevens!?), the court struck down a federal law banning photos, videos and other depictions of animal cruelty, saying it violated the First Amendment right of free speech.

The videos in question included women in spiked heels crushing chicks and kittens with those heels, as well as dog fighting videos, among other "speech."

Two things: 1. Such animal cruelty is against the law in most places. How can the court reasonably assert that videotaping such criminal acts is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution? 2. What next? Constitutional protections for snuff videos that show human beings killing each other?

This overwhelming decision by the court will forever confound me.

And credit where it is due. From Alito's dissent:

The animals used in crush videos are living creatures that experience excruciating pain. Our society has long banned such cruelty, which is illegal throughout the country.

Good on ya, Justice Alito!