I read with great interest the piece by State Rep. Tarik Khan, “To bullies everywhere: Here, we SLAPP back,” (Local, 10/19).
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I read with great interest the piece by State Rep. Tarik Khan, “To bullies everywhere: Here, we SLAPP back,” (Local, 10/19). It was in March of 2001, that Friends of Fairmount Park Animals was hit with a SLAPP lawsuit initiated by the Fairmount Park Commission. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. These are described by Rep. Khan as being intended to “bully, frighten and silence.”
Advocates for deer who were being killed in Fairmount Park had been expressing their opposition to this injustice from the time of the initial so-called cull in 1999. I was a named defendant as were others who could be identified. We had been exercising our legal rights according to the Constitution of the United States under the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
It’s good to know that the Anti-SLAPP Act (HB 1466) passed in the House. Hopefully, it will pass in the Senate and ultimately be signed by Gov. Shapiro.
Bridget W. Irons
Co-founder, Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer
Chestnut Hill
