[ SHOWGSD-L ] Hey Stormy! COLORADO VICTORY
- From: RihadinK9@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:09:32 EST
JUST got this message... a victory in CO!
> Mrs Tina Villani called us from the Colorado State Capitol and reports
that SB054 to repeal Colorado's Dangerous Dog Law that prohibits BSL at the
local level died in the Senate Local Government Committee. The vote was 5-2
and
then a reverse roll call was taken which insured the Bill is dead.
>
> Tina reports that one of the Senators made a comment that she had a
statement from the Chief of Police of North Glen (Russ VanHouten) stating Pit
Bull
Terriers were not dangerous and that was good enough for her. Tina was the
first to speak and below is her speech. The message from the Senate was that
they could not understand why Denver was wanting to repeal the existing
state law when the issues of Home Rule Authority have not been closed.
>
Opposition for SB054 at the hearing came from ACF (Tina Villani) CVMA Dr
Cawl, CAWA Jan Smith, RJ Oconnell (Parker Colorado resident), Russ VanHouten
(Chief of Police North Glen Co.)
and two other Veterinarians from Colorado.
Support came from Colorado Muni League (Sam Mament) for Denver Co.
Glen Bui
ACF
>
>
>
>
TINA VILLANI'S OPPOSITION SPEECH SB054 2006 SESSION
>
Good afternoon madam chairman and members of the local government committee.
>
I am a representative of the American Canine Foundation, a dog owner and a
resident of Colorado. Senate Bill 054 is before you today and there is very
important data that you must hear regarding this legislation.
>
The issue of home rule over the regulation and control of specific breeds of
dogs was addressed by a Denver District Court in April 2005, the case is
still open and in the Colorado Court of Appeals, there is not a published
opinion at this time.
>
In July of 2004 Denver City Attorney Kory Nelson could not defend Denver's
breed ban at trial. A Denver Pit Bull owner named Howard Margolius represented
by the law firm of Walter Gerash challenged Denvers Pit Bull law, at trial
he proved Denvers animal control officers could not identify an American Pit
Bull Terrier beyond a reasonable doubt and his charges for violating the law
were dismissed.
>
> Denver's City Attorney Kory Nelson is releasing flawed data to other
Colorado cities on breed specific legislation. He has failed to disclose that
Denver's breed ban will not withstand court litigation. Mr. Nelson was quoted
in
the San Francisco Chronicle telling the public people would be justified in
shooting Pit Bulls running loose. The media is not reporting the truth behind
dog attacks in our state. Recently in Aurora a ten year old boy was mauled
by three dogs, the media reported them as Pit Bulls, we have data indicating
one dog was a chow and another one was a mixed breed. Last year a 7 year old
girl was attacked by two Malamutes in Colorado, she died and the dogs were a
pair, male and female spayed and
neutered. Many breeds of dogs are responsible for causing severe injury in
Colorado and the media never reports it, they only report Pit Bull attacks
and a lot of those reports involved other breeds the media refuses to name.
>
BSL terrorizes innocent dog owners who have family pets, it only targets
responsible owners who license their dogs and can be easily located, it brings
people who care for their animals to court where they face criminal charges,
it causes serious overpopulation in shelters, it is not stopping
irresponsible pet owners because by taking a specific breed away from somebody
because
the claim is the breed is dangerous when there is no breed of dog that's
dangerous to that degree is without meaning, it has no logic,
>
There is no data available to support a finding that a specific breed of dog
is inherently dangerous to the point of banning the ownership. Current data
from Dr. Brady Barr who was on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic
shows that the bite pressure of the average size canine is apx 300lbs per
square inch including the American Pit Bull Terrier. The Pit Bull Terrier does
not lock it jaws and other breeds of the same size and smaller have inflicted
the same amount of damage when attacking according
to accurate fatal attack and dog bite incident reports. Scientific
evidence shows that the environment creates the behavior of the canine.
>
> Denver cites the Center for Disease and Control Study done on fatal dog
attacks between 1979 and 1998 where it claims that Pit Bulls and Rottweilers
are responsible for the majority of fatal attacks . The study is flawed, it
left out over 90 fatal dog attacks that occurred during that time period, it
does not include the populations of the 32 breeds of dogs responsible for
fatalities and without being able to divide the number of the fatal attacks by
the
breeds with their populations there is no way to determine which breeds is
more likely to attack causing death.
>
At this time I have filed a lawsuit challenging Home Rule Authority and the
constitutionality of breed specific legislation against the city of Aurora,
they have filed a motion to dismiss my case, it shows that Aurora fears going
to trial where current scientific data would be used to prove that no breed
of dog is inherently dangerous.
>
Dangerous dog laws that include strong penalties for irresponsible dog
owners have been proven effective in protecting the public, there is no
accurate
documentation showing that breed specific legislation protects the public.
>
I ask you not to vote on legislation coming from the bench based on a case
from Denver that is not closed at this time.
>
>
> Thank you !
>
>
Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA
"One of the greatest delusions of the world is the HOPE that the EVILS of
this world are to be CURED BY LEGISLATION." Thomas B. Reed 1886
_http://www.rihadin.com_ (http://www.rihadin.com/)
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