Members of the California state Senate voted unanimously Aug. 22 to approve the state bill requested by the University of California to help stem the campaign of violence and intimidation by animal-rights terrorists against researchers and their families.
The vote was 29 to 0 to approve AB 2296, the bill introduced by Assemblymember Gene Mullin, D-San Mateo, at UC's request. It now goes back to the Assembly for a vote because it was substantially revised from the version the Assembly approved earlier.
With the recent firebombings targeting two UC Santa Cruz biomedical researchers and their families, there is more concern than ever about the fate of AB2296 and the safety of researchers whose work involves animals.
Among those who have lent their voices in support of AB2296 have been Chancellor Gene Block, UC President Mark Yudof, UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal and UCLA Vice Chancellor for Research Roberto Peccei.
Source: University of California, Los Angeles
