“Is there a local group I can join to stop proposed BSL in my town?”
“Is anyone else trying to get this law repealed?”
“How do I find other people near me who want to stop BSL here?”
StopBSL gets this kind of question frequently—and until now, we’ve relied on memory, post comments, and Google Search to provide an answer.
We would like to invite you to help us create a list of local groups (and individuals) that are focusing their efforts on a particular breed-specific law in a particular municipality, state, or region.
If you
- want to start a local group to oppose a breed-specific proposal or law in your area
- or know about or are part of a local group that is opposing a breed-specific proposal or law in your area
- and want your neighbors to join you in opposition to a local breed-specific proposal or law
please fill out this short form so that we can add your group to our public list.
As the list grows, you and I can quickly refer interested individuals to this list so they can find and join local opposition to BSL. A well-organized and vocal community group is an invaluable tool for fighting local BSL—they can attend council and board meetings, contact local news media, educate the community, and more.
The list of local groups can be found here. (Since we’ve only just started gathering data, please be aware that this list is basically empty right now. We hope it will fill up quickly!)
Please share this new resource with your fellow BSL opponents! The more groups we can add to the list, the easier it will be for people to find and get involved directly in their community.
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 
I think it as equally as important to promote pit bull awareness in our communities regardless of whether BSL or restrictions are a threat or not. In fact I believe it is most important to do when there is no threat of BSL or restrictions at all and could in fact mean the difference between a demand for restrictions on pit bulls or a demand to find other ways to keep the public safe from dog aggression.
Here in Portland Oregon we hold monthly Bully Walks through downtown Portland in order to help the public see with their own eyes what is possible for pit bulls when in the hands of responsible dog owners. We do this because it seems that the media has a stranglehold on the public regarding pit bulls in that they rarely report any dog related tragedies unless a pit bull is involved. People get the idea that all pit bulls are dangerous dogs. It’s up to us pit bull owners to put our money where our mouths are in that we MUST, if we want to keep our pets, make our dogs pit bull ambassadors and get them out there in the public so they public can see that pit bulls are not all dangerous. It is especially important to join together so that the public can see that pit bulls can be around other pit bulls and other breeds and that the people who own pit bulls are no all drug dealers or thugs or dog fighters. Just imagine what a person might think when they see fifty or more pit bulls walking together in harmony with their owners. That is a very powerful experience if you think about it. Our dog’s image as a pit bull is now entirely up to what we do to influence people through what they see with their own eyes which will always trump what they see and hear on television.
I hope that people reading this will be inspired to reach out to the other pit bull owners in their area and organize walks together. It is much easier than one might imagine and the reward is great. Plus the bonus is meeting many other great people who love their pit bulls. We’ve taken ours a step further and have become a pit bull advocacy in the community but that doesn’t have to be the end result…just a walk together once a month, or more often, will help influence people to see pit bulls and their owners in a different light!
This is a good point. It’s a difficult line for StopBSL to tread. StopBSL does not advocate for any one breed or type of dog. If we were to open the directory to breed advocacy groups that did not consider opposition to BSL a primary part of their mission, the list would quickly become bloated with advocacy groups that might have only an indirect link to BSL opposition.
Texas, for example, has a state law that prohibits BSL. There are many excellent breed-specific advocacy groups, rescue and foster groups, and many other groups in Texas who have shown that they are willing to oppose BSL if and when it becomes an issue, but I would not include them in the directory; BSL is rarely an issue in Texas and most of the advocacy groups are not focused on BSL. By contrast, any group in Texas that was formed specifically to reduce the possibility of BSL—and decides to hold regular dog walks to further that goal—would be a perfect candidate for this directory. There doesn’t need to be clear and present BSL, but the group needs to be primarily interested in preventing BSL.
So what I’m getting at is, the Portland group you mention would need to consider their primary goals. If their primary goal is to oppose BSL, then I encourage them to submit their info for inclusion on the list.
Basically, if you can imagine a scenario where any one community member might come forth and ask “Who is trying to repeal this law?” or “Who is opposing this proposal?” and your answer is “We are!,” then we would like your group on the list.
But we’ll see how the directory develops.