Asheville

A vital primary election is coming up in North Carolina March 15. As voters get a chance to query candidates on top-of-the-shelf concerns such as teacher pay, immigration policy, health care concerns and the like, they might want to throw out a question on one more issue that has flown largely under the radar in the Tar Heel state:

Would you consider revising or rejecting completely the whistleblower law that passed the General Assembly last year?

Dubbed the “ag-gag’’ bill, the measure, pushed by large industrial groups such as hog and pig producers, lets businesses sue people who enter factories or other workplaces to take videos or photographs of practices, even when those practices turn out to be in violation of the law. It was aimed at groups such as PETA who have long waged war against industrial practices most of us would consider cruel.

It’s fashionable in many quarters to bash groups like PETA. However, many of those doing the bashing have a vested interest in what’s on their dinner plate and how it got there.

The law originally was meant to keep prying eyes away from factory farms. It failed twice in the face of fierce opposition, and as is so often the case the legislature came up with something even worse, a blanket version covering everyone.

To his credit Gov. Pat McCrory vetoed the new bill, but that veto was overridden.

The bill, which took effect Jan. 1, will shut down not only whistleblowers at factory farms, but also at veterans’ facilities, nursing homes and day care centers.

There’s an exemption for workers who report abuses directly to state authorities or their bosses. But if you’re on the wrong side of the law you can face fines of up to $5,000 a day, and that’s a chilling effect that will encourage most people to keep their mouths shut. Indeed, one of the bill’s sponsors said the point of the measure was to keep people from “running to a news outlet.’’

Imagine you have a loved one in a nursing home that’s being abused or neglected. Imagine you’re driving by the French Broad and see what appears to be wasted spilling into from a business or farm.

Try to document either instance and there’s a chance you could face a lawsuit.

The law is itself a target of a lawsuit filed by several groups challenging its constitutionality. We’d say they’re on firm ground.

Elon Law Professor Enrique Armijo put it best when he noted, “I think we run a real risk when we close the doors and turn off the lights of these industries such as agriculture, the nursing home industry, and these industries that offer a public service. I think when you call what’s going on behind those doors private, it creates a lot of problems.”

Indeed. N.C.’s new law is about as clear-cut a slap at the Constitution’s freedoms of press and speech as one can imagine.

When someone asks for your vote, ask them where they stand on it.