Miami-Dade Voters Consider Lifting Pit Bull Ban

[The Straight Story]

Miami-Dade Voters Consider Lifting Pit Bull Ban

MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County voters will decide Aug. 14 whether to keep a 23-year-old pit bull ban on the books.

The ban on pit bulls and pit bull-type dogs was set in 1989 after a 7-year-old girl was mauled outside her Miami home. The state prohibited breed-specific bans the next year, but Miami-Dade was granted an exemption.

Pit bull advocates say it's time to end the ban. County Commissioner Sally Heyman and the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation are among the advocates who argue that the county's definition of a pit bull is too vague, and that the cost of enforcing the ban stretches limited resources.

The girl whose mauling prompted the ban is now a hospital administrator. She says the ban's critics are putting dogs ahead of public safety.

http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_1514.shtml

One may be tempted to blame the owner of pit bulls for how they act but we know from guns debate that the person is not the responsible party. Just having a pitbull causes a person to train it in a way that it hurts others. Therefore, ban pit bulls.

They could get a smaller caliber dog, like Toto from the wizard of oz. Sure, it may bite, but it isn't going to maul you. So just ban assault dogs or dogs that are big enough to do damage (or a dog that looks scary).

Make all dog owners get a background check, not more crazy old ladies in a trailer with 200 dogs (and who needs more than one dog??)

Where I live some years ago a 2 year old was killed by a pit bull while she was in her own backyard. If the neighbor had only had a tiny, yappy, dog she would still be alive. Some people can't handle larger dogs, so if we ban them all we won't have to worry about this issue any more...

(olive garden)

[russspeakeasy]

1. Any one who has been to Miami (not the beach Miami)

but the real Miami, would swear that the pit bulls have been running the city for the last 12 years.
Roads are shit, police cars and ambulances race, and the litter on the sides of the roads is incredible.
The airport ? It will take your breath away.
All Miami needs is more dog fighting and it will become an official third world country.

[RebelOne]

3. I lived in Miami most of my life.

I owned a pit bull. I moved to Georgia in 1989 right before the ban. I left him with my mother in Miami. He died not soon after. He was 13 years old.

I really believe in pit bulls being banned. My dog was not vicious, but he was aggressive. I did not teach him to be that way. That is just the way of pit bulls.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. I had been neutral on the pit bull issue...

...until my partner brought home one who belonged to some friends of ours who didn't really want him. He is the sweetest, most lovable and loving animal. Really wants to please. Yes, he has scary jaws and teeth, but he mainly uses them to chew the shit out of sticks and bones. I don't see them as an evil breed.