Tennessee proposes banning felons from owning "vicious" dogs for 10 years

[alp227]

Trying to Take a Bite Out of Crime via Felons’ Dogs
by Erik Eckholm
The New York Times
May 16, 2010: A11

When drug agents in southeast Tennessee tried to arrest people suspected of dealing methamphetamine last month, they ran into an all-too common obstacle: a large, snarling dog on the front porch.

As the officers persuaded the homeowner to come out and chain the animal, the main suspect and her partner flushed away the drugs, the agents say. “The delay wiped out the chance for a conspiracy case against the man she was with,” said Mike Hall, director of the district drug task force in Charleston, Tenn.

While menacing characters with dogs in spiked collars are nothing new, the use of aggressive animals as sentries and weapons by drug dealers and gangs has reached new heights in some regions. They threaten innocent neighbors, police officers and, as this example showed, enforcement of the law. One of four drug searches and arrests in Mr. Hall’s four-county district now involves a house with guard dogs, he said.

“These dogs are the gang-member version of buying a home-security system,” said Carter F. Smith, a gang expert and professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee University, protecting dealers from predatory human rivals as well as arrest.

Now Tennessee legislators, at the urging of law enforcement officials and even animal-welfare advocates, have passed new measures aimed at curbing the use of mean dogs by criminals.

A bill awaiting Gov. Phil Bredesen’s signature would bar felons convicted of violent or drug-related crimes from keeping “potentially vicious” dogs for 10 years after being released from prison or probation. Based on studies showing that unsterilized dogs are most apt to be aggressive, it would also require that any dog owned by felons be spayed or neutered and implanted with a microchip for identification.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15dogs.html

[rocktivity]

1. How do they propose to do this--with a list of breeds they can't own

and would mutts count?

:eyes:
rocktivity

[Taverner]

2. Dog Control - interesting

Like Gun Control, but treating a dog as a gun...


Let me ruminate on this...

[MadHound]

3. More stupid drug war insanity.

Meanwhile, in the reality based world it is shown that pairing up ex-cons with former fighting pits for rehab purposes benefits both the dog and its owner.

Most dogs will bark and snarl upon a stranger entering their territory. That's their job, no matter their size. In fact that's why many people keep a dog, to provide alarm and protection, among other even more important things like friendship and companionship.

So what are going to label as a potentially vicious dog. Apparently everything from a Chihuahua on up.

What's funny is that these idiots don't even know how to to disarm a dog, how to quiet it. Throw a few pounds of fresh meat on the porch and the dog is quiet and happy.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. My not so humble legal Opinion: Void for vagueness.

Typical bad law writing to solve a problem.