May 24, 2017      4:22 PM
Despite effort to derail it, bill raising penalty for animal cruelty passes Texas House
Rep. Tinderholt had inserted an abortion-inspired amendment but Republicans led the charge to refocus the bill on punishing perpetrators of “horrific crimes”
Texas House members on Wednesday stripped an abortion-inspired amendment
by Rep. Tony Tinderholt,
R-Arlington, that had been added the day before to a bill increasing penalties
for animal cruelty.
The bill, Senate Bill 762 sponsored by Rep. Joe Moody, ups the penalty for
torturing, killing or seriously harming pets from a state jail felony to a third-degree
felony. But Tinderholt – upset that these penalties were tougher than ones
passed in the chamber for doctors who perform “partial-birth” or
“dismemberment” abortions – proposed an amendment keeping the current state
jail felony penalty intact.
Moody described Tinderholt’s
amendment as essentially removing the purpose of the bill.
By Eleanor Dearman
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