[ SHOWGSD-L ] California...animal bills we LIKE didn't make it...
- From: "Peggy" <pmick12@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <GSDCALegislative@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 09:07:59 -0400
Levine and Mancuso are celebrating............and pointing
fingers................... our side dropped the ball
Seven initiatives that would have limited the state's ability to regulate
animal ownership have failed to qualify for the ballot due to a lack of
signatures.
The measures were introduced in November by opponents of AB 1634, the
mandatory spay/neuter bill from Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys. The
Secretary of State reported on its website on May 2 that the proposals had
not qualified.
Among the provisions of the various initiatives were clauses that would
declare animals as property, prevent the state from limited the number of
animals someone could own, ban putting microchips in animals, limit animal
licensing fees, and prevent "coerced sterilization of humans or animals."
"We didn't get enough signatures," said Jill Holt of We the People Pets, the
group behind the failed initiatives. "It was a grassroots effort, but with
not enough money. We're going to re-file."
"I don't want to say 'I told you so,' but I have a pretty good idea when
they started circulating they were probably miscalculating the voters
feelings on the issue," Levine said. "I don't think there were many voters
out there who wanted to do the things the initiatives would do."
Levine said that he's concentrating on talking to senators on the Local
Government Committee, which is AB 1634's next stop. The bill passed the
Assembly on a narrow 41-38 vote last June. It would require any dog or cat
over six months old to be spayed or neutered, with exceptions for many
breeders and working animals. Levine said not only would it save upwards of
a million dogs and cats from being euthanized in shelters each year, but it
could save state and local governments $300 million currently spent on
warehousing these excess animals.
Holt and others said the bill awakened a grassroots resistance against what
they see as government intrusion. AB 1634 was unquestionably one of the most
watched bills of last year, generating thousands of letters, emails and
phone calls to Capitol offices. She pledged her group would be back with
more money and experience.
"It's a very interesting process," Holt said. "We'll be a lot better
prepared next time."
The American Kennel Club, the American Dog Breeders Association and several
other groups are still opposing the bill. But they did not materialize as
funders of the initiatives, as some on the pro-AB 1634 side feared.
"I don't think they ever really had an organized campaign," said Judie
Mancuso, coordinator for the pro-AB 1634 media campaign. "I think it was
more to just get attention. It got their word out that they're against
protecting animals in any size, shape or form."
In the meantime, she said, the bill is having national influence.
Legislators in Arizona and Colorado are patterning bills based on it, as are
several cities, including Chicago. Los Angeles passed a spay/neuter
ordinance in March; mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed it at a ceremony that
including former "Price is Right" host Bob Barker, a well-known animal
welfare activist.
Levine and Mancuso are celebrating, and pointing fingers...
Seven animal initiatives fail to qualify for ballot
By Malcolm Maclachlan (published Friday, May 16, 2008)
Seven initiatives that would have limited the state's ability to regulate
animal ownership have failed to qualify for the ballot due to a lack of
signatures.
The measures were introduced in November by opponents of AB 1634, the
mandatory spay/neuter bill from Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys. The
Secretary of State reported on its website on May 2 that the proposals had
not qualified.
Among the provisions of the various initiatives were clauses that would
declare animals as property, prevent the state from limited the number of
animals someone could own, ban putting microchips in animals, limit animal
licensing fees, and prevent "coerced sterilization of humans or animals."
"We didn't get enough signatures," said Jill Holt of We the People Pets, the
group behind the failed initiatives. "It was a grassroots effort, but with
not enough money. We're going to re-file."
"I don't want to say 'I told you so,' but I have a pretty good idea when
they started circulating they were probably miscalculating the voters
feelings on the issue," Levine said. "I don't think there were many voters
out there who wanted to do the things the initiatives would do."
Levine said that he's concentrating on talking to senators on the Local
Government Committee, which is AB 1634's next stop. The bill passed the
Assembly on a narrow 41-38 vote last June. It would require any dog or cat
over six months old to be spayed or neutered, with exceptions for many
breeders and working animals. Levine said not only would it save upwards of
a million dogs and cats from being euthanized in shelters each year, but it
could save state and local governments $300 million currently spent on
warehousing these excess animals.
Holt and others said the bill awakened a grassroots resistance against what
they see as government intrusion. AB 1634 was unquestionably one of the most
watched bills of last year, generating thousands of letters, emails and
phone calls to Capitol offices. She pledged her group would be back with
more money and experience.
"It's a very interesting process," Holt said. "We'll be a lot better
prepared next time."
The American Kennel Club, the American Dog Breeders Association and several
other groups are still opposing the bill. But they did not materialize as
funders of the initiatives, as some on the pro-AB 1634 side feared.
"I don't think they ever really had an organized campaign," said Judie
Mancuso, coordinator for the pro-AB 1634 media campaign. "I think it was
more to just get attention. It got their word out that they're against
protecting animals in any size, shape or form."
In the meantime, she said, the bill is having national influence.
Legislators in Arizona and Colorado are patterning bills based on it, as are
several cities, including Chicago. Los Angeles passed a spay/neuter
ordinance in March; mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed it at a ceremony that
including former "Price is Right" host Bob Barker, a well-known animal
welfare activist.
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