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ICYMI

KFOR took a sympathetic look a cockfighting enthusiasts…

2:10 PM EST on November 10, 2014

cozad

The guy pictured above with a garage door opener in his pocket is BL Cozad. He's one of the premier cock trainers in Oklahoma and a friendly, terrifying reminder that everyone gets to vote.

Last week in a sweeps story spectacular, KFORwent deep within Derplahoma to tell us BL's sympathetic story of how an overreaching government is interfering with his God-given, constitutional right to make a living by forcing God's creatures to fight to the death gladiator-style for sport and show.

It's part of KFOR's new series "Is This a Fucking Terrifying State or What?!"

Here's the video:

In all honesty, that was kind of entertaining. It reminded me of watching one of those nature shows about a primitive culture that still exists in a remote jungle or the African Savannah, only it didn't have any topless ladies, the inhabitants speak English, and they all shop at the Purcell Walmart.

Seriously, can you get any more backwoods than that? Why didn't they go all out and show us BL's moonshine distillery and the secret spot where he and his brothers/cousins/nephews (I think they're all the same thing) wrestle bears and goats.

I think my favorite part of the story was some of the insightful things BL had to say:

(BL) said, “This is about my constitutional rights.”

He believes the state law banning cockfighting violates his religious rights, in that God has given man dominion over the animals (referring to Genesis 1:26)...

Cozad says, “I see two gamecocks fighting I understand it is just a part of God’s plan and his perfect design of the world and I am simply attempting to perpetuate the traits and conduct a harvest of the natural abilities he placed in the gamecock when he created it. Exercising the ‘dominion’ that is given to me by God over the animals I own is the free exercise of religion that is protected by the 1st amendment of the Constitution as a practice of religious freedom.”

Yes, it's all part of God's plan. I'm sure that's exactly what the big guy was thinking as he drew up his blueprints to the universe.

"Crap. I got a problem here. What are we going to do to keep all the uncivilized backwoods hillbillies entertained?"

"I got an idea,  Dad, you know those birds that you were going to use as alarm clocks?"

"Yes."

"As opposed to all other animals, give them violent traits and natural abilities that these people can harvest as a freedom of religion,"

"Great idea, son. Preach that on the hill when I send you down there in a couple of days."

I also like BL's logic on this issue:

Cozad says raids in the past prove the agencies who enforce the law are willing to risk a human life to keep the chickens from fighting.

He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family.

Cozad said, “Every time they make a raid they create a situations where they’re going to potentially hurt cripple or kill a human being.”

He's 100% right. It's the government's fault if someone gets hurts while trying to enforce the laws that you are blatantly breaking.

Cozad said, “The constitution is written to protect human rights, not animals.”

He said, “Can you pass the same law against the cattleman that you passed against a game cock farmer?”

Cozad says the birds are not trained fighters. He believes they fight because it’s in their genes.

He said, “You can’t force it to fight. You can’t train it to fight. You can’t make it fight. It fights because of the natural instincts God put into the creature.”

If BL is all about the bird's "natural instincts," why does he keep them in cages, put spurs on their feet and then toss them into a ring with another bird. That doesn't sound like something Roosters do in the wild.

Cozad does believe there is a bigger battle behind the cockfighting laws. He blames something he refers to as UN Agenda 21.

Cozad said, “The goal of those behind UN Agenda 21 is to remove farmers and ranchers from the soil and force all of us into the huge cities known as ‘human settlement zones, in accordance with the ‘wildlands project.'”

Cozad has been working for years to reverse the state’s ban, but so far the ban stands. Cockfighting is considered a felony crime in Oklahoma.

Instead of raising gamecocks, maybe it's time this guy starts a cuckoo farm. It seems more fitting.

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