The following is information I received through telephone calls and e-mails on the Tennessee Senate and House
bills that would ban pit bull ownership.
It should be noted that Represenative Janis Sontany has given her word to the general public, as well as to all
the House and Senate members, that the end results of these bills WILL NOT be breed specific.
UPDATE: Friday, February 9, 2008
Representative Janice Sontany has confirmed that the bills she and Kilby proposed are not going to be breed specific.
She has given her word to us regarding this matter, and considering her committment to animals in Tennessee, that is
a very strong and believable statement from her.
UPDATE: Friday, February 1, 2008
Tennessee Senate Bill 3827 which would make ownership of a "pit bull" in Tennessee a Class A Misdemeanor
now has a companion House sponsor.
House Representative Janis Sontany filed HB3984 on Thursday, January 31,
2008. Phone calls to Representative Sontany's office today rendered little information. Her staff seems uninformed
of the issue and could not advise as to what direction Rep. Sontany is going with this bill. HOWEVER,
Representative Sontany is known throughout the state as very pro-animal. We even understand that she has a "pit bull
mix" as her family companion.
We must be POLITELY persistent
in opposing these bills to Representative Sontany, as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee (whose contact information
is further down the page).
It is also important for Tennessee residents
to reach out to their LOCAL representatives and voice their concerns regarding
these bills.
Senator Tommy Kilby has submitted ANOTHER
bill that, as written, would make pit bull ownership in the State of Tennessee a Class A Misdemeanor. As previously
noted, being a spectator at a dog fight in the State of Tennessee is only a Class C Misdemeanor.
The below is a summary of my telephone call to Senator Kilby's office this morning:
I just spent a good, long time on the phone with Senator Kilby’s
assistant, Nadine, regarding SB3827, which hit the Senate Judiciary
Committee yesterday.Nadine was extremely pleasant and helpful as she has been in all our discussions
in the past.
This is what I was able to
find out from our discussion:
The difference
between SB2738 (which was withdrawn on January 18) and SB3827 (which was filed on January 17) is the Chapter and Title the
bills refer to. As I understand it, the change in the Chapter and Title allows Senator Kilby to make broader,
more sweeping changes to the bill.SB3827 affects Titles 39 and 44 and, as such, it opens the bill to a
wider array of modifications.The previously filed bill only pertained to Title 39 and could only have
been narrowly tailored from its original form.
Now that the bill is
in the Senate Judiciary
Committee, the committee members will start to make modifications and changes to it.I am assured
that the breed specific language will be removed and, as we have all read, Senator Kilby has made public statements
that he does not intend on proceeding with a pit bull ban. Moving forward now would certainly damage his credibility
and trustworthiness.
As I understand, Senator
Kilby is following procedure in order to craft a dangerous dog law that is enforceable and holds owners of all dogs to a higher
accountability. I have also been assured by a dog loving member of the Tennessee House, that this is standard procedure.
NEVERTHELESS…standard procedure or not, we should continue
to write to Senator Kilby and the nine members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (in the same polite and professional manner that was acknowledged
before) regarding our opposition to breed specific legislation and encourage them to remove the breed specific language from
the bill immediately.
Nadine reminded me that all
the Senate Judiciary Committee
meetings are open to the public, and she encouraged anyone interested to attend.Groups and/or individuals
wishing to make presentations in support of their position are encouraged to do so.
In addition, Nadine
has asked that we offer to Senator Kilby and the committee viable, enforceable, REAL solutions for the their consideration.
As stated above SB3827 was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday (January 23, 2008).
It is very important for everyone to contact each members of the Committee with their polite
and respectful opposition to this bill. We are also asking that you forward alternatives and ideas
to committee for their consideration.
**PLEASE NOTE** It is too early to flood the entire Tennessee
Legislature with our opposition. If the bill gets out of committee, we will then want to expand our opposition.
I just had another very nice conversation with both Jeremy and Nadine,
Senator Kilby's assistants.
Nadine confirmed - as we read in the news this morning - that Senator Kilby's intention
was to raise awareness that there is a problem with irresponsible dog ownership in Tennessee. He is not moving
forward with a bill to ban pit bulls. I wish
he would have chosen a different method to prove this point, but...
Nadine advised that Senator Kilby was extremely
thankful for all the information he has received thus far. It is his desire to craft a law that addresses the true issues
associated with "dog problems" and get to the heart of the problem. As a dog lover, Nadine was thrilled by the sheer
volume of people who came out in opposition of this bill.
Nadine also said that ALL the phone calls and correspondence
they received was very professional, very respectful and very informative. I am really proud at how this situation was
handled and, as a pit bull owner who resides in the State of Tennessee, it is wonderful to know that when we are in need, we can count on the support
of thousands from across the country for assistance.
Nadine is drafting a letter to go out to the various
organizations who contacted Senator Kilby, so I am sure she will be able to provide a little more detail as to the direction
the Senator plans on taking next to craft a workable, non-breed specific law.
