Help is Needed from Ohioans to Save H.B. 366!
Update February 25, 2008: Supporters hope to be able to save H.B. 366 by arranging meetings between committee members considering the bill and people who live in their districts. If you live in Ohio, check to see if any of these members of the House Committee on Infrastructure, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs listed below represents you. If so, contact Shana at shana@canineadvocatesofohio.org to help arrange a meeting with your rep!
You can also write or call committee members directly and urge them to support this bill which would repeal state law that defines a vicious dog to mean a pit bull. The bill, H.B. 366, will mean pit bull type dogs will no longer be automatically considered vicious under state law. Read the original report below for more information.
The opponents of this bill are well organized. The dogs need you.
Representative Steve Reinhard, Chairman
77 S. High Street
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
(614) 644-6265
(614) 719-6982 FAX
district82@ohr.
Representative Danny R. Bubp, Vice-Chairman
(614) 644-6034
(614) 719-6988 FAX
district88@ohr.
Representative Jim Aslanides
(614) 644-6014
(614) 719-6994 FAX
district94@ohr.
Representative Courtney Eric Combs
(614) 644-6721
(614) 719-6954 FAX
district54@ohr.
Representative Diana M. Fessler
(614) 466-8114
(614) 719-3979 FAX
district79@ohr.
Representative Lynn R. Wachtmann
(614) 466-3760
(614) 719-3975 FAX
district75@ohr.
Representative John J. White
(614) 466-6504
(614) 719-6966 FAX
district38@ohr.
Representative John Widowfield
(614) 466-1177
(614) 719-6942
district42@ohr.
Representative Allan R. Sayre, Ranking Minority Member
(614) 466-8035
(614) 719-6996 FAX
district96@ohr.
Representative John Domenick
(614) 466-3735
(614) 719-6995 FAX
district95@ohr.
Representative William J. Healy, II
(614) 466-8030
(614) 719-6952 FAX
district52@ohr.
Representative Dale Mallory
(614) 466-1645
(614) 719-3586 FAX
district32@ohr.
Representative Eugene R. Miller
(614) 466-7954
(614) 719-0010 FAX
district10@ohr.
Representative Robert J. Otterman
(614) 644-6037
(614) 719-6945 FAX
district45@ohr.
Representative Peter S. Ujvagi
(614) 644-6017
(614) 719-6947 FAX
district47@ohr.
Original report: Ohio State Rep. Shawn Webster along with co-sponsor Rep. Carol-Ann Schindel, have introduced H.B. 366, which will repeal that portion of Ohio state law, Sec. 955.22, that defines dogs as vicious simply because they are pit bulls.
A recent Ohio state supreme court decision upheld this discriminatory law. Now, opponents of breed specific legislation will urge the Ohio legislature to eliminate this law that says dogs are vicious, no matter how friendly they are, if they are pit bulls. For a look at that Ohio Supreme Court decision, click here. Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Breed Discrimination
The proposed law also would amend Sec. 955.221, by making it clear local governments in the state could define "dangerous" or "vicious" dogs more broadly than under the new statute as long as there is no conflict with state law.
Under current law as well as the proposed H.B. 366, a dangerous dog with some exceptions is defined as "a dog that, without provocation, ...has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person, while that dog is off the premises of its owner, keeper, or harborer and not under the reasonable control of its owner, keeper, harborer, or some other responsible person, or not physically restrained or confined in a locked pen which that has a top, locked fenced yard, or other locked enclosure which that has a top."
A"vicious" dog under the new law would be defined with some exceptions as "a dog that, without provocation and ... meets any either of the following: (i) Has killed or caused serious injury to any person; (ii) Has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person, or has killed another dog." A "vicious" dog would no longer be defined to include pit bulls.
Some are concerned the change to Sec. 955.221 will encourage local governments to define a dangerous or vicious dog to include not only pit bulls but other breeds as well. But the change really only clarifies existing law which allows local governments to enact their own dangerous or vicious dog laws as long as they don't conflict with state law.
It should help reduce the spread of BSL throughout Ohio if state law does not define a pit bull as automatically "vicious" because of its breed. It's a good start anyway. To read the proposed law, click on Pending Bills on this page. To review the current Ohio laws, go to our Laws section also on this page.
To find where BSL currently exists in Ohio, visit this site. BSL in Ohio
Talking Points in opposing BSL: Dogs don't bite because of their breed and communities are not safer unless responsible leaders address the real reasons dogs bite which in addition to the problem of dog fighting, include:
- - failure to spay/neuter (over 90% of fatal dog attacks are by dogs that have not been spayed/neutered; there is not a single case of a fatal dog attack by a spayed/neutered pit bull type dog (National Canine Research Council)) Also, research cited in a 2000 Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association study indicated unsterilized dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite.
- - tethering or chaining dogs (also a popular technique by dog fighters to make the dogs more aggressive; the CDC has found tethered or chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite and see Why You Should Take Action to Get Dogs Off Chains)
- - failure to enforce leash laws (82% of dog bites occur as a result of dogs that are running loose (JAVMA, September 15, 2000))
- - cruelty (well over half (61%) of fatal dog attacks are by dogs who were not humanely controlled, or who had in some way been abused or neglected (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))
- - failure to train, socialize, manage, and make dogs part of the family (81% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were isolated and not part of the family (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))
- - dog fighting including breeding and training dogs for fighting and aggression (Many state laws do not make all activities associated with fighting illegal and have weak penalties, making prosecution difficult.)
- - a culture of violence promoted by the media and entertainment industry that glamorizes aggression in dogs
BSL
SOME OF THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE VOTED OUT!