Connecticut Governor signs HB6311 outlawing breed discrimination

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 8 Comments

Connecticut HB 6311 has been signed into law by the Governor and now becomes the 15th state to outlaw breed discrimination.

Like the recently passed Nevada Assembly Bill 110, Connecticut HB6311 has no home rule exemption or grandfather clause.  This was an easy sell because currently there are no municipalities in Connecticut known to have a breed discriminatory law.  Grandfather clauses are often added when a municipality has a law that they are fighting to keep, often lobbying against the law to prohibit breed discrimination.

It is also interesting to note that, also like the Nevada bill, HB6311 passed with a very small minority of dissenting votes.  There were only 4 votes against the bill’s passage in the Senate, the bill passed unanimously in the House.

This is not to say that passing these bills is a simple task.  There is a lot of educating that must be done to make law makers understand what breed discriminatory laws entail in cost to both municipalities and citizens. What this does point to is an increased willingness by law makers to address the issues that prevent municipalities from becoming the safe and humane communities they deserve to be.

Congratulations Connecticut!  We look forward to finding out who will be number 16 in the rapidly growing list of states that do not want breed discrimination.

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Osawatomie Kansas repeals 20 year old breed ban

Posted on June 5, 2013 by | 3 Comments

The Council in Osawatomie Kansas has voted to repeal their breed ban after a resident brought the issue to them earlier this year. The resident was targeted under the ban while walking her boxer mix. Unwilling to part with her dog permanently, the resident moved the dog out of the city limits and took the issue to the City Council.

After the issue of the ban was brought forward, a task force was formed to study the current ordinance to see what changes were needed and ultimately came back with several recommendations. A repeal of the ban, anti-tethering, stronger anti-cruelty provisions and a clearer set of provisions for dealing with dangerous dogs are all part of the changes to the law.

Local animal experts made suggestions when the ordinance changes where initially brought to the Council. Offering solutions in conjunction with criticism is an extremely powerful way to engage law makers and participate in the civic process for the betterment of the community.

The clarity of the new ordinance makes it much more enforceable. This will result in a better targeting of owners who are not operating proper care and control of their dogs in the community. At the same time, it will allow those who operate reasonably in the community full access to their personal rights.

The full ordinance can be viewed here.  It is a long read but very comprehensive and would be a good reference to have for people whose communities are considering changes to their dog laws.

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Posted in BSL Repealed

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Clay Alabama passes pit bull ban

Posted on June 3, 2013 by | 20 Comments

The City Council of Clay Alabama voted June 3rd to ban dogs they deem to be pit bulls after an incident involving 4 dogs officials claim were pit bull dogs.  The Sheriff was approached while on his porch by the loose dogs. He felt threatened and shot at them, grazing one of the dogs. This incident happened on Tuesday the 27th of May.

Officials passed a ban on pit bulls seven days later.

Sheriff Hale is now saying he believes the dogs that approached him were not pit bulls but Rottweilers.

The ordinance was modeled after Center Points ordinance.  The ban does have a grandfather clause.  Those people who currently have a dog that would fall under the ordinance have 60 days to register their dog in order to be able to keep it.  Owners of grandfathered dogs must post a sign, keep the dogs inside and carry $50,000 of liability insurance.

Violators of the new law face a fine of $500 and up to 30 days in jail.

It is not known at this time whether any public input was accepted.  It is unlikely that this is the case because the prompting incident happened last week.  This appears to be a very clear case of serious owner failure resulting in some political favors being called in to mete out a personal vendetta with no care or consideration for any members of the community.  Seven days is not enough time to properly research the cost and impact of this kind of law.  Officials will no doubt find out very soon that there is a cost involved, and a heavy one at that.

Quick laws are, without fail, bad laws.

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Posted in BSL Passed

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Norwalk Ohio considering repeal of discriminatory law

Posted on June 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment

For many years the state of Ohio considered dogs deemed to be pit bulls vicious based solely on appearances.  As with all these laws, it is a misnomer to say that this law was based on breed because the actual breed of the dog was not considered, just that the dog looked a certain way.

After years of hard work involving many people and groups, the breed specific portion of state law was dropped in 2012.  We have seen many repeals on the smaller municipal level in response to this.  Now it appears that Norwalk may follow suit.

City Law Director Stuart O’Hara has said that the state law sufficiently covers the needs of the community when dealing with dangerous dogs, implying that local law should mirror state law.

Currently Norwalk’s ordinance classifies a dog deemed to be a pit bull as vicious, mirroring the old state law. From the ordinance:

(d)“Vicious dog” means a dog that meets any of the following: (3)Except as set forth herein below, belongs to a breed of dog commonly known as pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping or harboring of such a dog shall be prima-facie evidence of the ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog…

This declaration of being vicious carries a long list of requirements, including confinement (kennel) requirements, muzzling, insurance and special registration. The full ordinance can be found here.

Residents and locals: Please reach out to offer encouragement and support for a repeal of Norwalk’s breed discriminatory law.

Council information:

Steve Euton: euton1@frontier.com

Deborah Lucal: dlucal15@aol.com

Robert Carleton: bcarleton1942@gmail.com

Samantha Ludwig: samludwig10@gmail.com

Chris Mushett: cmushett@hcjpc.com

Kelly Beck: kellysarahbeck@aol.com

Scott Meyer: ripwing212@aol.com

Stephen Schumm: sfschumm@aol.com

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Posted in Proposal to Repeal

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Bluefield WV election: Breed ban and the candidates

Posted on May 31, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Bluefield West Virginia passed a ban on dogs deemed to be pit bulls recently.  The passage of this law was a travesty to the community. There was no public comment allowed on the date of the first vote and on the date of passage officials allowed comment after the vote.

Residents were not allowed to be heard then but there is an opportunity for them to be heard now.

The board is up for re-election. A news article delves into the candidates, the incumbents and their positions on the ban.  The whole article from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph can be viewed here so residents can get a better idea of where the candidates stand on other issues.

A brief over view of positions:

Incumbents: All of the current board members voted for the ban. Board members Whalen, Brammer and Sternloff were interviewed by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. All three stand by the decision to institute the ban.

Opposition: All non-incumbents running for office oppose the ban. Some are against breed discriminatory laws completely, some want to go back to the 2008 law which imposed restrictions on dogs deemed to be pit bulls.

District break down based on positions: Those in favor of the ban are in italics

District one: Incumbent Mary Brammer is being opposed by Rev. Garry D. Moore Sr. and Barbara Thompson Smith. Rev. Moore’s son has a targeted dog, so the issue is a personal one for him. While he is not completely against a breed discriminatory law he is against the ban. Barbara Smith stated she was against breed discrimination completely.

District two: Incumbent Linda Whalen is being challenged by Steven P. Coleman and Ellen Peters Light.  Coleman is against the ban but it is unclear if he would be for a complete repeal. He references the 2008 law which placed restrictions on the dogs. Ellen Light has not made any specific statement against the ban but alludes to opposition.

District three: Michael Gibson is running unopposed.  As a lawyer, he recognizes the legal problems with it and opposes the ban but not the previous law.

2 at large seats: Incumbent Pete Sternloff, Thomas Cole, Charles McGonagle,  Willie C. Hunt and Richard Lee Dillon. Cole and McGonagle are against the ban but support the 2008 restrictions. Hunt was not available to be interviewed. Dillon expressed strong opposition to the ban saying he would immediately vote to overturn it.

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Columbus Nebraska to change dangerous dog laws

Posted on May 31, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Columbus Nebraska is re-vamping their dangerous dog laws. The City Attorney requested the changes after a Platt County judge recently ruled that owners of dogs that are deemed dangerous do not receive proper due process under the current law.

As a response to this, officials are adding an appeals process that would give the owner 48 hours to file after the declaration that the dog is dangerous.  The appeal would be heard by a panel of 3 city council members.

Most of the discussion has been very positive, centering around making the law more constitutional and holding owners responsible for the actions of their dogs. However, one Councilman has mentioned singling out certain breeds.
“Instead of a harsher sentence for owners, City Council President Ron Schilling wants exemptions from the ordinance for family pets and smaller dogs. Schilling said he would like to see breed-specific wording in the ordinance since larger dogs can inflict a more serious injury.” Full article

The proposal is now available on the cities website and we are happy to say that there is no breed discriminatory language in the changes at all.  Instead the proposal focuses on the intent of the review, creating better due process for those whose dogs are deemed dangerous or potentially dangerous.

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Posted in BSL Rejected

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Connecticut HB6311 to prohibit breed discrimination moves to the Governor’s desk

Posted on May 30, 2013 by | Leave a comment

This Thursday the Connecticut bill to out law breed discriminatory laws on the state level passed the full Senate with a vote of 30-4.  The bill now moves to the Governor to be signed into law. The bill must go to the House for concurrence first but this is usually a very simple matter especially since the bill was voted for unanimously.

If the Governor signs the bill, this will not only be the 15th state to out-law breed discriminatory laws but it would also be the second state this year to do so, following Nevada AB110 that was just signed into law.

If signed the bill would go into effect October 1st 2013. There is no home rule exemption in this bill and there is also no grandfather clause.  This means that any place with a discriminatory law in place would have to repeal it.

Connecticut residents: Please reach out to Governor Dannel P. Malloy and ask that he sign this bill, ensuring that the real causes of dangerous dogs are addressed at the municipal level.

You can e-mail the Governor via the states website.

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Posted in Connecticut

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