[ SHOWGSD-L ] Virginia MSN Bill -- HB 1853 -- Part II -- Please Help Virginia -- CROSSPOST OKAY
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2007 21:25:35 -0500
Ginger Cleary - Rome, GA www.rihadin.com <http://www.rihadin.com>
"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling
into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from
falling into error."United States Supreme Court, American Communications
Association v. Douds, 339 US 382 (1950)
-----Original Message-----
By requiring the spay/neuter of all puppies sold by anyone who doesn't
meet some 'we think these are good breeders' exemptions, HB 1853 would
substantially narrow the breeding population of dogs in Virginia. It
would raise the prices of lower-priced dogs and because the exemptions
are vague, it would be used as a club against people that AR-run animal
control organizations don't like. We can be certain that new
requirements -- breeder licenses, inspections, and mandatory
microchipping -- will be added in the future if this passes.
You can read HB 1853 at:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+HB1853
plain text = existing law; strikethroughs = text REMOVED by HB 1853, and
italics = new text ADDED by HB 1853
The easiest place to stop a bad bill is to get the sponsor to WITHDRAW
the bill. Virginia would like your help in doing this, PARTICULARLY IF
YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH MANDATORY SPAY NEUTER or IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS OR
RELATIVES IN VIRGINIA.
But EVERY CONTACT COUNTS and WE WILL TAKE ANY HELP WE CAN GET. I can
tell you from previous experience that OUT OF STATE CONTACTS DO HELP.
Emails, letters (should be faxed because of the time constraints), and
phone calls will all make a difference.
Everything you need to contact Delegate Wittman ('patron' or 'sponsor'
of HB 1853) is in this email.
This situation is a little tougher than most. One of us has already
written to Delegate Wittman: He answered as follows:
=========================
Dear Mr. Xxxxx,
Thank you for your e-mail concerning HB 1853. I appreciate your
comments and concerns about the bill. I have submitted the bill as a
mechanism to address the 150,000 animals that are euthanised each year
in the State of Virginia.
The bill addresses animals adopted through animal shelters and those
that are sold through dealers. I am a dog owner and hobby breeder myself
and am concerned about the large number of animals that are euthanised
each year. If you have thoughts about how to address this issue I am
very interested. If you have thoughts about how HB 1853 can be amended
to make it better I am very open to suggestions.
However, I am not going to withdraw the bill. Our democracy demands
that these issues be put forth and discussed. This issue deserves to be
addressed and this bill will allow that debate. I urge you to be a part
of the discussion about how we address the issue not to advocate that we
do nothing. The folks that elect us expect us to be leaders, to address
issues and get things done. That is my charge and that is what I am
doing by submitting HB 1853.
I look forward to an open and productive discussion about how we
address the euthanization of 150,000 animals a year. If you are not
bothered by this situation please let me know. If you wish to see this
issue addressed please give me your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Rob
=========================
We should note that Mr. Wittman is a freshman; this will be his first
General Assembly. He's a Republican, 99th Virginia district which is
the counties of Caroline (part), King George, Lancaster, Northumberland,
Richmond, and Westmoreland.
When an Assembly Member takes a frustrating position like "I am not
going to withdraw the bill" it can be hard for us to be polite.
However, COURTESY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS IN ANY OTHER SITUATION.
Regardless of what we may think at the start, most Assembly members do
want to do the right thing and we should give them the benefit of the doubt.
Moreover, what goes around, comes around. Many members we disagree with
today will be in the Assembly for years to come and some of them will be
on our side on future bills IF WE DON'T DRIVE THEM AWAY. Short story:
if you can't handle this on a professional and factual basis we sure do
understand your feelings but please leave the job to others who can.
Here's the contact information for Virginia Delegate Robert Wittman:
Capitol Office -- probably where he'll be from now through the end of
the Assembly:
Phone: (804) 698-1099
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Email: DelRWittman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you call and Del. Wittman is unavailable, ask for his Legislative
Assistant. Winning the L.A.'s support is usually 3/4 of the way to
winning over the member.
Here's a typical email. DO NOT COPY THIS. Emails that are duplicates
or obviously from a form letter hit the WINDOWS trash without even being
counted in many offices. [Square brackets are my comments]
===================
Subject: Please WITHDRAW HB 1853
[The L.A. will read all messages, counting those for and against: If
there's a lot of traffic, fatigue can be an issue. Get 'please WITHDRAW'
in the subject to make it more likely that your message will be counted
correctly.]
The Honorable Robert J. Wittman
Virginia House of Delegates
Dear Delegate Wittman:
My wife and I breed whippet dogs in the western part of Virginia. We
are deeply concerned with HB 1853 because this bill would lead to
further narrowing of the gene pool in our breed and many others. That
means even more trouble combating inherited health problems.
[Say who you are and why this matters to you first of all. If you are
constituent of Del Wittman's GET THAT IN HERE. If you are a Republican
and/or voted for him, BE SURE to get that in.]
While we would qualify for an exemption with the present text of the
bill, such exemptions are the source of many problems in enforcement and
they're certain to be changed or removed in the future. Moreover, we
know many perfectly good breeders who DON'T qualify: some register with
other registries, some are devoted to non-registry performance
activities, some simply breed for good pets.
The problem the bill claims to address -- the euthanasia of 51,000 dogs
and 71,000 cats (2005 VDACS figures) will NOT be improved by this bill.
Such laws have been passed in several other places and not one of them
has worked.
Meanwhile, Virginia's euthanasia figures come down from year to year as
the result of voluntary confinement and spay/neuter of pets. We're less
than ten years, probably closer to five, to a dog population 'soft
landing' and we do not want to go into a shortage situation as those
problems are far messier.
[The main part of your letter is WHY you want HB 1853 withdrawn. KEEP
IT SHORT -- your whole email should fit on one screen, except possibly
your closing.]
Please WITHDRAW this unwise bill.
[Say it again at the end so the L.A. doesn't make a mistake counting.]
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your full address
Your phone number if you would be willing to talk to the L.A. or Del.
Wittman about some point that is of interest.
[If you do not give an address your email or letter probably won't be
counted as it is too easy to use computers to generate hundreds or
thousands of fake emails and letters.]
=======================
Use YOUR OWN ideas. There were others in Part I of this email.
Do you have a friend, a puppy buyer, or a relative who owes you one in
Virginia? Please ask HER to make a contact for us!
BE POLITE! BE POLITE! BE POLITE!
Let's try to make our contacts with Delegate Wittman prior to midnight
on Tuesday the 9th of January.
Thank you! THANK YOU!
Walt Hutchens
Timbreblue Whippets
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