Friday Diamondblogging -- Special "Stop the Slaughter" Edition
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I'm using this week's Friday Diamondblogging to raise awareness among the dog carnivals about the wholesale slaughter of innocent "pit bulls" in Denver. I hope the carnival participants will spread the word.
Apologies to those who already read this post on Wednesday.
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The local hack politicians of Denver have joined the cabal of uneducated activist legislators who place inflammatory anecdote above reasoned logic by slaughtering "pit bulls" --
I will give the Denver dog murderers credit for one thing, however: unlike many other municipalities that have engaged in breed-specific legislation, Denver readily admits that there is actually no such breed as "pit bull" --
As I've hinted in other contexts, I'm not a big fan of civil disobedience, except in the most extreme circumstances after every conceivable avenue of redress has been exhausted. I'm a strong believer in the value of the moral high ground.
But I'll tell you this: the only way the government would be able to take Diamond away from me, after I acquired her legally and lovingly, would be to pry her from my cold dead hands.
Or, to put it in slightly less melodramatic terms: At this point in my life I would never consider leaving New York City for another job or a higher salary, or even for a boyfriend if I had one. But I would leave, without hesitation, to protect Diamond from a "pit bull looking" ban.
How many hearts are being broken for no valid reason, just so the local hack politicians could satisfy their lust for the Politics of the Warm Fuzzy Feeling, so they could say they "did something"?
And of course I swear that I will never set foot in the City of Denver so long as they slaughter innocent dogs based only on their looks.
Do I look like a "pit bull"?
Would Denver kill me?
Do I look like a "pit bull"?
Would Denver kill me?
Bloggers expressing their indignation include Ken Foster, Cliffs of Insanity, Touring the Zoo, Matt and Jess, Confessions of a Nobody, Power2thePeople, Where the Dolphins Play, purple america, Objective Justice.
I hope every blogger with a dog (or with a heart) will pick up this meme and blog about it. A long and loud name-and-shame might not stop Denver, but it might make the next gaggle of local hack politicians think twice before implementing a similar slaughter.
Carnivalized at Modulator's Friday Ark.
UPDATE: Mike at Crime & Federalism, who is a civil rights specialist, has grabbed the baton and is offering his services to any Colorado lawyers who are interested in challenging the seizure. (Remember that there are two distinct issues here: the ban of the "pit bull looking dogs" going forward, versus the seizure, without due process, of dogs that had been previously been legally acquired.) I fear, however, that any challenge of the seizure provision would be rendered moot before it could be litigated (i.e., the dogs would already be dead).
I also find it particularly obnoxious that the state that first tried to constitutionalize anti-gay bigotry for its own sake, via its infamous "Amendment 2," struck down in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), is now hiding behind a "home rule" provision in its state constitution that gives cities the right to thumb their noses at the state legislature. So "home rule" is just fine when it means slaughtering innocent dogs but was a "threat" when it meant passing laws to protect gays from discrimination. Go figure.
Apologies to those who already read this post on Wednesday.
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The local hack politicians of Denver have joined the cabal of uneducated activist legislators who place inflammatory anecdote above reasoned logic by slaughtering "pit bulls" --
A few weeks ago, two police cars and two animal control vehicles pulled up at the home of Stef'ny Steffen looking for her beloved 4-year-old pit bull, Xena. Seven officers hauled the animal off to the city shelter, putting her on death row.I've blogged about breed-specific legislation before, and have little to add regarding this latest disgrace.
Xena became an outlaw after Denver won a court fight and reinstated one of the toughest pit-bull bans in the nation. Since May, more than 380 dogs have been impounded and at least 260 destroyed — an average of more than three a day.
Dog owners are in a panic. Some are using an underground railroad of sorts, sending their pets to live elsewhere or hiding them from authorities. City officials would not estimate how many people might be violating the ordinance.
I will give the Denver dog murderers credit for one thing, however: unlike many other municipalities that have engaged in breed-specific legislation, Denver readily admits that there is actually no such breed as "pit bull" --
Pit bull typically describes three kinds of dogs - the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. But Denver's ban applies to any dog that looks like a pit bull. The animal's actual behavior does not matter.No word on who gets to decide whether a dog "looks like a pit bull" or what appeal process is available. Sounds to me like that is a question of fact to be decided by a jury.
As I've hinted in other contexts, I'm not a big fan of civil disobedience, except in the most extreme circumstances after every conceivable avenue of redress has been exhausted. I'm a strong believer in the value of the moral high ground.
But I'll tell you this: the only way the government would be able to take Diamond away from me, after I acquired her legally and lovingly, would be to pry her from my cold dead hands.
Or, to put it in slightly less melodramatic terms: At this point in my life I would never consider leaving New York City for another job or a higher salary, or even for a boyfriend if I had one. But I would leave, without hesitation, to protect Diamond from a "pit bull looking" ban.
How many hearts are being broken for no valid reason, just so the local hack politicians could satisfy their lust for the Politics of the Warm Fuzzy Feeling, so they could say they "did something"?
And of course I swear that I will never set foot in the City of Denver so long as they slaughter innocent dogs based only on their looks.
Do I look like a "pit bull"?
Would Denver kill me?
Do I look like a "pit bull"?
Would Denver kill me?
Bloggers expressing their indignation include Ken Foster, Cliffs of Insanity, Touring the Zoo, Matt and Jess, Confessions of a Nobody, Power2thePeople, Where the Dolphins Play, purple america, Objective Justice.
I hope every blogger with a dog (or with a heart) will pick up this meme and blog about it. A long and loud name-and-shame might not stop Denver, but it might make the next gaggle of local hack politicians think twice before implementing a similar slaughter.
Carnivalized at Modulator's Friday Ark.
UPDATE: Mike at Crime & Federalism, who is a civil rights specialist, has grabbed the baton and is offering his services to any Colorado lawyers who are interested in challenging the seizure. (Remember that there are two distinct issues here: the ban of the "pit bull looking dogs" going forward, versus the seizure, without due process, of dogs that had been previously been legally acquired.) I fear, however, that any challenge of the seizure provision would be rendered moot before it could be litigated (i.e., the dogs would already be dead).
I also find it particularly obnoxious that the state that first tried to constitutionalize anti-gay bigotry for its own sake, via its infamous "Amendment 2," struck down in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), is now hiding behind a "home rule" provision in its state constitution that gives cities the right to thumb their noses at the state legislature. So "home rule" is just fine when it means slaughtering innocent dogs but was a "threat" when it meant passing laws to protect gays from discrimination. Go figure.
Posted by KipEsquire on
22 July 2005
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