Coordinated Campaign

Revised: December 9, 2014; 00:27 GMT

Kansas City, Des Moines, and other cities across a broad swath of the Great Plains are currently reviewing their animal ordinances. Many of the reviews began when local pit bull advocates called upon their respective cities to revoke long-standing Breed Specific Legislation (BSL).

In the days leading up to the recent, critical Council vote in Kansas City two major articles about BSL appeared in quick succession. The first appeared in the Kansas City Star and the following week the second appeared in USA today

In a quiet trend, pit bull bans are disappearing

   Kansas City Star; Nov 9, 2014
   by Mike Hendricks
U.S. communities increasingly ditching pit bull bans
   USA Today; November 18, 2014

   by Aamer Madhani

Both articles suggest that BSL is being discarded across the country. The coordination of the 2014 campaign to revoke BSL, and these two articles in particular, demonstrate the influence on major media by the advocates of fighting breeds. It's unlikely that either of these two articles would have been written without advocacy outreach.¹

The coordinated campaign to repeal BSL has failed in many (perhaps most) of the cities. Although some communities have complied with the demands of fighting breed advocates, at least 23 cities have recently enacted, upheld, strengthened, or defended their BSL.

The recent defeat of the repeal effort in Aurora, Colorado, demonstrated once again that over 2/3 of the people do not want to live next door to a pit bull. The crucial December 4th Kansas City (UG) Council vote to retain their long-standing BSL serves as a beacon for those cities still resisting intense pressure from the advocates of fighting breeds. There will continue to be calls for repeal, but the recent votes will help put the repeal movement behind us.


Twenty-three Cities:
A PARTIAL list of cities that have recently enacted, upheld, strengthened, or defended their BSL:

St Mary's passes pit bull ordinance
   LimaOhio.com; December 8, 2014
Montreal's Outremont bans pit bull type dogs
   MTL Blog. December 5, 2014
Smithville (TX) flags pit bulls as 'dangerous' - sets requirements
   Smithville Statesman; December 3, 2014
Pit bull ban stands in Camdenton, Missouri
   Lake News Online; November 19, 2014
Attempt to repeal pit bull ban crushed in Colorado
   Animals 24-7; November 5, 2014
Enumclaw City Council upholds city’s long-standing ban on pit bulls
   News-Tribune; October 14, 2014
KALB News Channel 5; Moreauville, LA
On October 13, the village passed an ordinance that states if you own a pit bull or a Rottweiler, you must get rid of it by December 1 or they will take it for "disposition." (Note: this ban is on hold after one family brought national attention to the ban on their "therapy/service" dog.)
Council rejects effort to revoke pit bull ban
   Daily Journal (Burlington ND); September, 2014
Clay, Alabama to defend pit bull ban in court

   ABC3340.com; September 1, 2014
Fort Thomas mayor decides vote to keep pit bull ban
   Community Press; August 5, 2014
Reynoldsburg council refuses to repeal pit-bull ban

   Columbus Dispatch; July 29, 2014
Wellsville nips push to neuter pit bull ban
   Ottowa Herald; July 11, 2014
 Board toughens rules for pit bulls  Carroll County, MS
   Greenwood Commonwealth; July 9, 2014
 Parma City Council unlikely to remove pit bull ban anytime soon
   Cleveland.com; February 11, 2014
City Council upholds ban on pit bulls in Yakima

   Yakima Herald; December 4, 2013
Burnaby votes for new rules and higher fees for pitbulls and dogs deemed vicious

   Global News; September 30, 2013
BSL Ordinance enacted in Goodland, KS
   NWKS.com; July 16, 2013
Waterford Township Decides to Keep Pit Bull Ban in Place
   Oakland Press; June 11, 2013
City votes to keep pit bull ban
   Ogemaw County Heald; April 2, 2013
Town of New Llano bans pitbull dogs
   Leesville Daily Leader; March 27, 2013

In Miami-Dade, pit bulls remain illegal

   Miami Herald; August 13, 2012
Preston will keep pit bull ban
   Herald Journal; July 19, 2011
Council votes to keep pit bull ban
   Sioux City Journal; June 28, 2010

Forthcoming: Brent Toellner, Advocacy bullies, etc


* * * * *
Note:
¹   SRUV will print a retraction and apology of this charge if it is shown that either article was written without the input of advocates of fighting breeds.

SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163.

Recent Editorials from California, Colorado, Canada, & elsewhere in support of Breed Specific Legislation:

Pit bull ban worth considering
   Wausau Daily Herald; July 20, 2014
Ontario’s pit bull ban is working and mustn’t be repealed

   Toronto Star; October 6, 2014
No on Proposition 2D: Putting an end to Aurora’s dangerous pit bull charade
   Aurora Sentinel; October 23, 2014
Pit bulls can be deadly; hold owners accountable
   Modesto Bee; November 2, 2014
Aurora right to keep pit bull ban
   Denver Post; November 6, 2014
A Dangerous Dogs Act of 2015?
   Sacramento Bee, November 7, 2014

Owners of pit bulls didn't like Our View

   Modesto Bee; November 8, 2014

No surprise that pit bullies won't let election loss go

   Aurora Sentinel; November 18, 2014

Sources:
Attempt to lift pit bull ban in Wyandotte County fails
   KCUR 89.3 FM; December 5, 2014
Debate on Animal Control Ordinance draws big crowd
   Hutch Post, December 5, 2014
Pit bulls remain banned in KCK
   KC Kansan; December 4, 2014



Statistics:

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014

Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

This page may also include information from Dogsbite and Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

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