Pit bull defenders bite back at NC bill that would require background checks for new owners
Pit bulls might have a reputation among some as rough, gruff dogs from tough neighborhoods.
But the breed’s advocates are fiercely loyal and quick to fight back against their bad rap sheet – as Rep. Rodney Moore, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, found out this week. Moore, a small-business consultant who has owned pit bulls, introduced a bill Tuesday that would require anyone taking ownership of the much-maligned dogs to submit to a criminal background check. The proposal also targets Rottweilers, mastiffs, chows, Perro de Presa Canarios and any “wolf hybrids.”
“I did this for a constituent,” Moore said Thursday. “It was not to vilify a breed. The reason I put background checks in was I didn’t want irresponsible people to use these types of animals illegally.”
The bill, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Larry Pittman, a Republican from Cabarrus County, was quickly sent to the House Rules committee where it is expected to be quietly euthanized. But news of the proposal had already raced across the Internet. Reaction was swift and biting.
Bless the Bullys, a Tennessee nonprofit dedicated to fighting breed-specific legislation and “restoring the image of the All-American Pit Bull Terrier,” posted an alert on its Facebook page.
NoPitBullBans.com, a website that claims to be “fighting breed-specific legislation and other radical animal-rights sponsored legislation across the United States,” posted news of the proposal Wednesday, arguing that it included “a laundry list of nanny-state requirements.”
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/19/2837385/pit-bull-defenders-bite-back-at.html
