KYA 2 Sets Its Focus On Animal Rights

Students from all over the commonwealth come to KYA to advocate and debate about the topics that are important to them. These wide array of topics paint a picture of what the youth really care about. At each conference there may be bills and platforms that are related or similar. At KYA 2 this year it is evident that students are interested in animals.

At KYA 2 there were a total of 5 bills and 4 candidates had platforms that were
advocating for animals. Some of the bills were advocating for the same things.
Bluegrass bill 6 and 30, and Commonwealth bill 19 were all addressing the need for an animal abuser registry. Currently in Kentucky there are no database for residents to gain information on on animal abusers in the state. These bills would be able to give residents of Kentucky the knowledge they have never been able to have. Commonwealth bill 19 is very unique in nature compared to the other bills related to animals. Commonwealth bill 19 is a bill relating to the prohibition of sexual contact with animals. The bill states that engaging in sexual contact with an animal should be prohibited. This bill states that if they are convicted of the crime they will be found guilty
of a Class C felony. The last bill relating to animals is commonwealth bill 40 which is related to the prevention of animal abuse. This bill is striving towards reporting animal abuse and it also imposes fines on people who are convicted of animal abuse. Candidates, Sam Smith, Julia Arnett, Bradley Mattingly, and Marcus Negron all advocated for animals rights as one of the platforms for their campaigns. Their platforms ranged from protection of animals in shelters, through no kill shelters, to just basic animal rights.

Here at KYA we try to embrace the voice that we have, and we are constantly
reminded that our voice matters. We also know that sometimes we have to speak up for others who might not have as strong of a voice as us, or in this case no voice at all. All of these beautifully written bills and platforms are speaking up for the ones who do not have a voice, the animals.