A Topic I Feel Strongly About: Please Help Me Stop Breed Specific Legislation

As many of you know, I am an avid animal lover, especially a dog lover and to be more specific, a pit bull lover. And right now, according to the NAIA Trust:

The Florida State House may consider lifting the ban on local breed specific laws. State Representative Perry E. Thurston, Jr. has introduced HB 189, following an interim report commissioned by the Senate Community Affairs Committee which recommended that local governments be granted the right under their home rule authority to enact breed specific regulations such as registering, muzzling, neutering, or destroying the dog.

Under the existing Florida Statute Chapter 767.14, local governments are prohibited from declaring a dog as dangerous based solely on its breed. While the committee recommendation does not go so far as to enable breed bans, it would allow restrictions and requirements based on breed.

To me, allowing the State of Florida (or any place for that matter) to ban a dog based solely on its breed is the same as racial profiling and banning blacks from entering a place simply because they were born black.

To further frustrate the matter, my boyfriend and I, have started a home search in South Florida and are finding the acceptable communities in which to live are few and far between based simply on the fact that we own a pit bull -- a pit bull that was a gift to me for my birthday from him and who did not choose to be born a pit bull or come live with us but now we must provide the best possible home for him but are finding it extremely difficult because of the ban on pit bulls in Miami-Dade County.

So I urge you ... beg of you ... ask of you ...

If you happen to be a resident of the State of Florida, please visit the site by clicking here and write a letter to your representative. You can write a personal letter (like the one I have sampled for you below) if you have personal stories you'd like to relate or you can use their letter creator though if you have a story to tell, I strongly urge you to write a personal letter as they generally tend to be more effective. If you choose to write your own letter please remember the following (as borrowed from stopbsl.com):

• Be polite and respectful.
• Address your elected official properly. For senators and representatives, “The Honorable” precedes the name on an envelope, and the letter starts with “Dear Senator…” or “Dear Representative…” If you aren’t sure, do a Google search.
• Your first sentence should hit the main point of your letter. “I am writing to ask you to vote against HB 2304.” “Please make the community a safer place by supporting non-breed-specific dog legislation.”
• Explain who you are, whether you are a constituent, and how the legislation would affect you. Include your contact information.
• Keep your argument brief. With a few exceptions, letters should be short (one page long) and to the point.
• Choose a few most important points to make and forget about the rest. Don’t worry about not covering everything—any points that you can’t fit into your letter will probably be hit on by someone else.
• Cite facts and examples to support your argument. Make sure what you’re saying is factual—find reliable sources for any facts you provide.
• Provide non-breed-specific alternatives to BSL.
• Say “thank you for your consideration” or “thank you for your assistance” at the close of the letter.

If you need any help, please feel free to contact me.

I've made available the letter I'm sending as a guide:

The Honorable Jennifer Carroll
Florida House of Representatives
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee FL 32399-1300

RE: HB 189--Punish the Deed, Not the Breed

Dear Representative Carroll:

I am writing you as a constituent who is very concerned about animal legislation. I recently learned that HB 189 has been introduced, which would allow cities and counties top ass laws targeting specific breeds. I urge you to oppose this misguided approach.

As a prospective home buyer looking to relocate to South Florida to continue my post-graduate education, I am already facing the enormous challenge of finding a place to live because of the municipal code that they already have in place because a member of my family happens to have four legs and have been born an American Pit Bull Terrier and as such, I have had to limit my home search to Broward County but even still, individual subdivisions and communities have their own restrictions and this is not just a hassle for my boyfriend and I but also a loss for the cities and communities that we have rejected as possible cities of residence because we refuse to get rid of a member of out family. Furthermore, we find the idea of paying taxes in a community that would have such laws absolutely objectionable.

If the State of Florida lifts the current safeguard that are in place, Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) will sweep the state and perhaps discourage those considering a move to the state and though it may not be widespread, it may even cause some residents to seek domicile elsewhere. I know that while it would be a definite inconvenience, I would seriously consider relocating to a more fairly legislated state when it comes to animal laws.

Suffice to say, not only do I believe that HB 189 should be opposed, I think that Miami-Dade County’s current Ordinance #89-22, Chapter 5, Article 2, Section 5.17 should be repealed as unlawful though I understand that it was adopted before current state statutes allows for but that may be a matter for another time and place however, I know that breed specific laws have not worked anywhere they have been implemented, Miami-Dade County is a prime example.

Taking Miami as a model, then we can see that their current ban on pit bulls has not served to make residents any more secure. If fact, if anything, residents are more fearful, ignorant, and unprotected and history has shown us that things driven by fear and ignorance end in unreasonable outcomes.

It is not only costly to enforce but it penalizes responsible dog owners and potentially leads to the destruction of innocent dogs for nothing more than their physical appearance.

It is akin to racial profiling – an abhorrent practice that causes uproar everywhere. This is no different. To pass judgment on a dog simply because he was born of a certain breed is not something that we should accept and condone. It could quite possibly set a dangerous precedent.

A generic dangerous dog law that holds owners accountable and is fairly administered, without regard for breed, is a far better choice for the residents of the State of Florida because as it stands, only responsible owners tend to abide by such laws. Those who are careless and/or negligent or are involved in criminal activity are unlikely to be found until an infraction occurs and it is already too late.

I thank you in advance for your time and should HB 189 come before you for a vote, I trust that you will oppose it.

Sincerely,

Kornika Neak Franklin

CC: State Representative Perry E. Thurston, Jr.