Since 2012, in response to animal activist exposés of the farmed animal agriculture industry, Iowa has passed four laws in an attempt to limit the ability of activists to document conditions on Iowa’s farms. The first of the ag-gag laws was struck down as unconstitutional in 2019 by federal court Judge James Gritzner, who found the law violated the First Amendment right to free speech. In the present decision, US District Judge Stephanie Rose has ruled a second ag-gag law (Iowa Ag-gag 2.0) also violates the First Amendment. This decision adds to Iowa’s ten-year complicated relationship between activists, lawmakers, and constitutional challenges by animal law advocates. Read the Animal Legal Defence Fund’s article here.
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