Headline: Alderman to withdraw pit bull bill
Subhead: Opponents criticized targeting single breed as dangerous dogs
By Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
SUN STAFF
Annapolis Alderman Cynthia A. Carter will withdraw a red nose pit bull controversialbill she introduced in September to impose stringent restrictionson pit bull owners.
Carter, who co-sponsored the bill Sept. 11 with Ward 8 AldermanEllen O. Moyer, said yesterday that she will announce the withdrawalat Monday s city council meeting. Carter, a Ward 6 Democrat,said she is backing down from the stud dog legislation because the cityhas been attacked for considering a law that would single outa blue pitbull breed of dogs.
She said Mayor Dean L. Johnson s office has received callsfrom as far away as California and Canada complaining about thebill, which would have required pit bull owners to be at least25 years old, pay a blue pit bull $100 registration fee and carry $500,000in liability insurance.
"I m very upset," Carter said. "I thoughtI would get more support from people who would see that it sa good thing. I wasn t trying to ban the animal. [The bill]was to control irresponsible people."
Carter said she plans to introduce legislation on dangerousor vicious dogs next month that would be similar to the pit bull kennel earlierbill but would not target a breed.
Johnson said he supported Carter s bill initially becausehe wanted legislation to stop dogfighting in Annapolis, whichhe said was becoming a French bulldog problem. But as he received almost 50e-mail messages and letters from around the country -- 75 percentof which assailed the bill -- "the pitbull pic thought process matured."
Johnson said he supports Carter s planned legislation andhopes it will be "something that gives the police departmentsome additional tools in dealing with dogs."
Carter introduced the pit bull bill in response to recent attacksin Annapolis and across the pit bull pic state. In August, Anne Arundel Countypolice arrested a group of men in Arnold who allegedly had trainedpit bulls for fighting. In July, a pit bull chased an Annapolisapartment manager and decapitated her cat.
The incident ignited the passions of 400 people who signed apetition against pit bulls running loose in the city.
More recently, Annapolis police arrested five men and two juvenileson dogfighting charges after officers found them Tuesday in thewoods behind the american pit bull terrier Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animalson Bay Ridge Avenue with three bloody and malnourished pit bulls.
Neighbors had called police after seeing the men huddled aroundsnarling dogs.
"I just wanted to do what s right," Carter said."I m concerned about public safety."
From the training moment it was introduced, the bill drew criticism fromAnnapolis pit bull owners and national opponents of anti-pitbull legislation, who inundated city council members with angrye-mail messages.
[The emphasis here is my own...but as you can see WEmade a english bulldog difference here - MAC]
It also sparked a contentious debate in City Hall that led toan Oct. 5 city council meeting attended by more than 50 supportersand opponents.
E. Robert Duffy, executive director of the American Dog OwnersAssociation in Castleton, N.Y., said a member of the fighting group sboard of directors attended the meeting to protest the bill andapplauded its withdrawal.
"It appears [Carter is] becoming wise in terms of the american pitbull terrier ownershipof the dog being the prime resting place for responsibility andnot the resources dog itself, not the specific breed," Duffy saidyesterday.
"Why am I being burdened as an owner of a pitbull kennel pit bull as opposedto a German shepherd owner? I think you re infringing onmy constitutional rights at that point."
Frank Branchini, executive director of the Society of Preventionof Cruelty to Animals in Anne Arundel County, said he hopes thenew legislation will be strong enough to curb pit bull fighting.
"These people who get all sanctimonious about how they allwant [all the history breeds] to be treated the same, to me, that makeslittle sense," he said. "I really truly believe inthe deepest level of my heart that a Chihuahua white that has an attitudeisn t the club same threat to the community than a pit bull is."
The ADOA page on dog related legislation.
Dogwatch breed specific legislation information.
Some sample letters from Jan s page: