A 10 year old boy was killed in Rusk Co, TX after being bitten by two Pitbulls last month. From what I gather reading the news stories, the area apparently had no leash law and the dogs were roaming unsupervised. A terrible and preventable tragedy.
The two dogs were killed by the county and charges are pending against the owners. As is often the case after such an event, things have spiraled out of bounds:
The family of Justin Clinton is now asking for tighter leash laws in Rusk county and trying to get pit bulls outlawed completely in Texas.
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The family calls their mission “Justice for Justin.” They’re [sic] goal is get Texans to sign a petition that would outlaw pit bulls in Texas.
The notoriously biased dogsbite.org blog has picked up the story and now the goal seems to have leaped from a statewide Pitbull ban to uh, America:
Among those attending the protest was Cynthia Kent, a Tyler attorney who served for several years as a district judge in Tyler.
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She and others vowed to take the fight to ban pit bull dogs to the national level. Mrs. Kent said she would speak with U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler about the prospect of national legislation.
[…]
The court also adopted a resolution calling for the banning of pit bulls throughout the nation.
Oh and they adopted a leash law for parts of Rusk Co. (in case anyone sensible is still reading).
Leash laws and humane confinement of dogs make sense. So does pursuing legal action against owners who violate those laws. Banning an entire breed because of the actions of some irresponsible owners and the tragic consequences which follow is illogical. Breed bans do not work.
If you live in the 1st Congressional District of TX and want to contact Rep. Gohmert, he has an e-mail form here. Hopefully he will hear from some folks educated on the issue. I’d hate to think the only person contacting him is Mrs. Kent.