Defending Texas Teeth Floaters

Defending Texas Teeth Floaters FARM HOME Miscellaneous Over the past couple years I’ve become a big fan of a legal defense group called the Institute for Justice The 20-year-old organization headquartered in Arlington Va provides legal power to people who have run into business-killing or rights-violating government roadblocks I wrote about one of their cases earlier this year Vol 35 No 1 when they successfully defended a Minnesota farm family against a local ordinance that said they could not sell out-of-state produce at their on-farm greenhouse operation They recently took on the Texas Veterinary Board which made it against the law in 2007 for non-veterinarians to “float” horses teeth horses teeth need to be filed down periodically The move instantly put hundreds of Texas teeth floaters out of business and required horse owners to use much more expensive veterinary services Acting on behalf of teeth floaters and horse owners who didn’t appreciate the government telling them who they could hire to take care of their horses IJ lawyers filed suit and won after a 3-year battle The Institute for Justice often challenges licensing and permiting laws which are designed not to protect the consumer but to protect an industry from new competition They also get in involved in land use disputes For example in many parts of the country it has now become almost routine for local governments to take private land by eminent domain to give to another private party which plans a “higher use” for the land It happened here in Minnesota when a local city took over a car dealership to give it to a Fortune 500 company that wanted to put up a new headquarters For more information go to the Institute’s website at www ij org or call 703 682-9321

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