On this day in vegan history · October 12, 2019
California Outlaws New Fur
With one signature, the country's most populous state told an entire industry its product had no future within its borders.
The facts
- Signed
- October 12, 2019, by Governor Gavin Newsom
- Bill
- AB 44, authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale)
- Took effect
- January 1, 2023
- Penalty
- Up to $500 for a first violation, rising to $1,000 for repeat violations within a year
On October 12, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 44, making California the first state in the nation to ban the manufacture and sale of new fur clothing and accessories. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman of Glendale, covers coats, handbags, shoes, slippers, hats, and even fur-trimmed key chains, while exempting leather, shearling, used fur, taxidermy, and fur used for religious purposes. Retailers got more than three years to sell through existing stock before the ban actually took effect. Newsom signed it as part of a package of five animal-welfare bills that same day, including a ban on wild animals performing in circuses.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
-
California is a leader when it comes to animal welfare and today that leadership includes banning the sale of fur.
Governor Gavin Newsom, October 12, 2019
Source: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom -
We've known from people who've gone undercover for years in the fur industry that it is impossible to be assured of humanely raised fur.
Assemblymember Laura Friedman, who authored AB 44
Source: Respect for Animals
Why it still matters
It was the first time a U.S. state decided that fur shouldn't just be labeled or taxed, but phased out of stores entirely, and it gave later campaigns in other states and cities a working blueprint to point to.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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