In response to my post here (and undoubtedly the letters and communications from readers), I received this response from Senator Liz Krueger concerning my attack on her blog post about her opposition to the legalization of MMA in New York:
Dear Mr Klein:
Thank you for reaching out to my office regarding Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legislation which I voted against. I appreciate you taking the time, and I have also read your blog post on the issue. I doubt we will come to an agreement on the bigger issue, because my objections to MMA go beyond whether or not practitioners use gloves or not, but I accept that you clearly have a clearer understanding of how MMA is currently practiced in states where it is regulated.
That said, I still do not believe that legalizing MMA is a good idea. Whether or not the MMA causes more injuries than boxing is not the key question for me, which is one reason I did not make that comparison. What is clear to me is that medical studies in Britain and the United States have found that there are significant injuries, up to and including death, from MMA.
Furthermore, while all athletic endeavors hold some risk of injury, the unfortunate attraction of this sport to children is particularly disturbing to me. I have seen stomach-turning videos of kids who looked to be around 8 years old in organized classes beating on each other, and I do not think New York State should make it our policy to encourage that behavior.
I also understand that kids can go to other states to see these matches or watch them on TV. But why should New York make it easier for them, or legitimize this violent behavior? I believe that the state should act to discourage rather than encourage violence, and therefore cannot see support legalizing another violent sport like MMA.
While we may not agree on this issue, I appreciate your input. I accept that thoughtful people can have differences of opinion on this issue, but continue to believe that sanctioning mixed-martial arts is not good public policy for our State.
Sincerely
Liz Krueger
State Senator
I certainly appreciate that the Senator responded to my post and I intend to respond after my vacation -- I will also attempt to set up a roundtable with other politicians, like Assemblyman Bing, and others who are on the other side of the debate -- but I am a little disappointed that, despite her acknowledgement that her point on protective equipment is inaccurate, her post is still up at her blog.
While I also appreciate that she recognizes that I have a clearer understanding of the protective equipment requirements in jurisdictions that have legalized MMA, she fails to address the fact that the very bill she is so very proud of herself for opposing actually required protective equipment itself....
On her other points concerning children and health issues, I recognize that there is room for disagreement and I look forward to discussing these issues (perhaps debating) in the near-term.
Fight Lawyer
