The Annotated Cultural Bibliography of Pit Bull Journalism
In six sections:
Argumentum ad misericordiam (forthcoming)
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Revised: March 21, 2014; 15:09 GMT
Revised: March 27, 2014; 16:29 GMT
Revised: March 27, 2014; 16:29 GMT
1984: Tijeras, NM pit bull ban goes into effect
The New Breed of Municipal Dog Control Laws, Are They Constitutional?
by Lynn Marmer
53 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1067 (1984)
Part Terrier, Part Terror
by Leon Daniel, United Press International
appeared in the Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1985
1986: City of South Miami pit bull ban goes into effect on January 1
Communities Consider Bans on Pit Bull Breed
Associated Press (Fred Bayles); January 4, 1986
1986: Cincinnati votes to ban pit bulls (but does not enforce the law until August 1995, after a pit bull mauls an officer)July 17, 1986; Tufts CAAP 1
City Bites Dog: Regulating Vicious Dogs/Pit Bull Terriers
by Michael E. Weight, Assistant City Attorney of Everett, WA
Legal Notes No. 444, Fall 1986 (Document Date: 10/15/1986)
Nine deaths in past 18 months blamed on pit bulls
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 29, 1986 (pg. A1)
Kansas Cities Take Action to Ban Pit Bulls
Hutchinson News (Archived), March 2, 1986
First local BSL ordinance in California is enacted in the Central Valley town of Livingston
March, 1987 (View or download PDF)
A Boy and His Dog in Hell, by Mike Sager
Rolling Stone Magazine, July 1987
Included in Sager's 2008 collection Wounded Warriors
Ohio governor receives bill defining pit bulls as vicious
Toledo Blade, July 1, 1987 2
Canine Racism? Attacks by pit bulls prompt vicious dog laws
Christian Science Monitor, July 3, 1987
An Instinct for the Kill
by Michelle Green, People, July 6, 1987
A remarkable article from an unlikely source, People magazine.
Series of Pit Bull Attacks Stirs a Clamor for Laws
by Peter Applebome, New York Times. July 12, 1987
Pit Bulls: Born Killers Or Trustworthy Pets? by Jill Young Miller
Orlando Sun-Sentinel, July 19, 1987
Foes, Fanciers Agree Pit Bulls Are a Breed Apart, by Gary Wilkes
The Mesa Tribune, July 26, 1987
Beware of This Dog
Sports Illustrated, July 27, 1987
Time Bomb on Legs
Time Magazine, July 27, 1987
July 28, 1987: Yakima, WA enacts pit bull ban
Biting Back at Pit Bulls
Los Angeles Times; August 25, 1987
This editorial opinion called for Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), before the term existed. The opinion stood for 26 years, until it was repudiated by a new opinion on August 8, 2013. The Times wrote the revised opinion, against BSL, following a string of pit bull attacks in the LA area. (See LA Times Unopinion)
Sept 21, 1987: Overland Park, KS enacts pit bull ban
October 15, 1987: By this date 44 cities in Kansas had enacted partial bans and 34 cities had enacted complete bans on pit bulls. See League of Kansas Municipalities, Pit Bull Dog Ordinances in Kansas
Cities (Oct. 15, 1987). The constitutionality of bans in Pittsburg, Kansas, and Shawnee, Kansas, were upheld by their respective municipal courts.
1988; Ft Thomas, KY adopts BSL; ban also declares pit bulls to have “inherently vicious and dangerous propensities”
What About Pit Bulls? by Don W. Ownby, 1988
Municipal Technical Advisory Service
Banning the Pit Bull: Why Breed-Specific Legislation Is Constitutional
by Sullivan, Sallyanne K.
13 U. Dayton L. Rev. 279 (1987-1988)
This issue of the Dayton L Review includes a special section titled
"Vicious-Dog Legislation—Controlling the ‘Pit Bull'
March 17, 1989: South Milwaukee, WI enacts pit bull ban
Dog bite-related fatalities from 1979 through 1988.
Sacks, et al; Journal of the American Medical Association
[Note: During the period of this study pit bull breeds were involved in over 40% of DBRF (dog bite related fatalities); the proportion of deaths attributable to pit bulls increased from 20% at the beginning of the study to 62% at the end, nine years later. The current figure remains near the 60% mark.]
1989: Miami-Dade County, FL and Denver, CO enact pit bull bans.
Notes:
1 The Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University organized a workshop in 1986 and a conference in 1987. Andrew N. Rowan, director of the Tufts Center for Animals at the time, edited and published the proceedings. Rowan eventually moved to the HSUS where he currently holds at least five titles.
Dog Aggression and the Pit Bull Terrier
Workshop; July 17, 1986
The Pit Bull Terrier Revisited: How To Break The Vicious Circle
Conference; September 19, 1987
2 Ohio's BSL was rescinded 25 years later, in 2012. Lucas County state representative Barbara Sears marshaled the repeal effort through the legislature, with the support of The Toledo Blade. The week the repeal took effect in May 2012, 3-day old Makayla Darnell was killed by the family pit bull in Monroe Township and pronounced dead by the Lucas County Coroner.
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