[6] On March 10, 2006, Gallegly announced his intent to retire from the House of Representatives after the 2006 mid-term elections, citing health concerns.

He had already filed nomination papers to seek another term, however, and attempted to have his name removed from the Republican primary ballot.

The following week, after learning that he could not have his name removed from the ballot and that no new challengers would be allowed to enter the race, Gallegly changed his mind and decided to seek what he said would be his final term.

[9][10] The top 5 groups or industries that have contributed cash to Representative Gallegly's 2009/2010 campaign are: (1) Retirees: $39,484 (2) Real Estate: $35,578 (3) Lawyers/Law Firms: $29,374 (4) Pharmaceuticals: $22,500, and (5) Crop Production/Processing $20,179.

"[12] In his defense, Gallegly argued that the bill he wrote contained "exceptions for religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, and artistic expression [that] may have provided too many loopholes within the legislation.

[13] Bob Stevens was convicted of committing animal cruelty as defined by the law, but claimed that his rights to free speech and artistic expression protected him against prosecution.

"[13] Representative Gallegly objected to Stevens’ defense, claiming that the videos "promote violence and, as such, are not protected by the Constitution.".

Gallegly and names of other legislators were forwarded to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which begun an investigation into the issue.