[nagdu] Barking up the right tree?

Thu Aug 26 17:43:42 UTC 2010

Jewel,

Yup!  I've been trying to explain that to someone recently.  Sigh.  One of
those things that shouldn't be a problem I keep running into since about 5
years ago...  Not worth creating a stink over really, except that now I'm
seeing signs that there could be something brewing so now I need to figure
it out and see if I can head it off at the pass...

Because Federal trumps state, and both trump park rules, so...  Anyway, I'm
coming up with a list of questions to ask the list, just as soon as I figure
out how to present the situation in a sensible fashion...  /smile/ 

Every now and then I have a period where I have to look up from living my
life and suddenly find myself wishing someone would just, like, do something
drastic to me with a good case of blatant discrimination that everyone can
understand and deal with so that it can just be, you know, dealt with.
/smile/

Anyway, so much for general observations.  Education first, starting with
exactly what you said:  Federal trumps state!  End of story!  Unless state
offers more protections and freedoms...  But this Oregon, so there's not
question on that score.  Sigh.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jewel S.
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 7:44 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Barking up the right tree?

Three words: Federal trumps State. Period. Ok, that's four words.

On 8/26/10, Ginger Kutsch <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Barking up the right tree?
> Pit bull service dog owners make progress with City Council
> Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
> Thursday, August 26, 2010
> SERVICE DOG? - To Glenn Belcher, an Operation Desert Storm
> veteran, his pit bull, Sky, absolutely is a service dog.
> http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=9737
>
> Operation Desert Storm veteran Glenn Belcher suffers from
> posttraumatic stress disorder. His 3-year-old pit bull, Sky, is
> his only saving grace.
>
> But Denver animal control officials won't let Belcher keep his
> pit bull because of a 20-year-old city ban on the breed. Never
> mind that Sky is considered a service dog, protected by the
> Americans with Disabilities Act. Animal Control Director Doug
> Kelley simply couldn't approve Sky for use in the city because
> Sky is of a banned breed, considered by most on City Council to
> be vicious and a danger to the city.
>
> Help, however, may be coming to disabled Denverites like Belcher.
> A City Council committee on Tuesday moved forward with a change
> to the city's 20-year-old ban on the breed that would allow
> people with disabilities to own pit bulls that are considered
> service dogs.
>
> Belcher relies on Sky. He shares his horror stories with his
> buddy so that he doesn't have to burden his friends and family
> with the pain. When Belcher suffers from night terrors, Sky sits
> on his chest to keep him from panicking out of control. Sometimes
> Sky wakes Belcher up out of the terrors and eases his trauma with
> a lick to the face.
>
> "There's no such thing as a bad dog, but there's such a thing as
> bad owners," explains Belcher. "That's what happened. This poor
> breed has just been side-railed into oblivion, and I think it's
> time for the public to understand that it's not the dogs."
>
> When Belcher was blocked by animal control from having his
> service pit bill in Denver, he took the case to the Wheat
> Ridge-based Animal Law Center. Attorneys planned on filing with a
> federal court for an injunction preventing the city from blocking
> pit bulls as service dogs. But in March, both Denver and Aurora -
> which also bans pit bulls - signed a joint stipulation stating
> that they wouldn't go after any pit bulls that are considered
> service dogs.
>
> Attorney Jennifer Edwards isn't resting quite yet. She has filed
> a federal lawsuit challenging both Denver's and Aurora's pit bull
> bans, arguing that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits
> municipalities from using breed-specific legislation to ban any
> service dog. Three plaintiffs are named, including Belcher.
>
> The federal law is clear in that it preempts any municipal
> breed-specific ban in cases where the animal has been designated
> as a service dog, said Edwards. City attorneys agree.
>
> The Animal Law Center's lawsuit also challenges Denver's
> prohibition against transporting pit bulls through Denver. City
> Council members heard from city attorneys on Tuesday that they
> need to update the city's pit bull ban to lift transport
> restrictions on pit bull owners who travel through Denver. A
> state court actually ruled in 2004 that the city had no right to
> prohibit transport of pit bulls through the city. But in over
> five years, city officials never updated its law to comply with
> the court's order.
>
> "It's pretty offensive that this has been on the books this way
> for this long in complete violation of the ADA, in complete
> violation of our Constitutionally protected rights, and it took a
> lawsuit from the Animal Law Center to open their eyes," said
> Edwards.
>
> The proposed ordinance change passed out of the Health, Safety,
> Education and Services Committee on Tuesday and is likely to be
> heard by the full City Council on Sept. 13.
>
> City Council members appeared reluctant to back the ordinance
> change, but felt their hands were tied by federal law.
> Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who has a disability herself and says
> she is a proponent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, said
> she is concerned that the ordinance change will lead to an abuse
> of the system and a sort of back door to legalizing pit bulls.
>
> "I'm thinking of all of the drug houses that I have worked on
> over the last seven years, and a couple of them have people who
> have become paraplegics in bad drug deals, but were still dealing
> out of their house, and they had tough dogs," said Boigon. "Was
> that a service dog? Well, I don't know, but those certainly were
> legitimately handicapped people. I think we're going to be in a
> world of hurt down the road on this."
>
> Animal Control Director Kelley acknowledged that the city has no
> separate licensing process for service dogs. In other words,
> anyone can walk in to claim their dog is a service dog, and
> animal control officers are not allowed to ask specific questions
> about the person's disability because of protections afforded
> under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
>
> City attorneys acknowledged that the only way for animal control
> officers to prove that a person is legitimately using a service
> dog would be to follow-up with an investigation. But officials
> say there simply are no resources to allow for those
> investigations.
>
> Councilman Doug Linkhart suggested that Kelley and his department
> develop a separate licensing process for service animals, as well
> as a test or survey to accompany the application.
>
> But in the meantime, concern - or joy depending on which side of
> the fence you stand on - is being raised that the ordinance
> change is leading to a legalization of pit bulls in the City of
> Denver.
>
> Councilwoman Carla Madison - an opponent of the city's pit bull
> ban who is attempting to garner support for a bill that would
> allow pit bulls if they are specially licensed by the city - said
> it is ridiculous for the Council to be enacting piecemeal changes
> to the city's pit bull ban.
>
> "I just think that this opens kind of a Pandora's box," she told
> her colleagues. "You have to observe the dog. Who's going to do
> that observation? We don't have that many animal control
> officers, and they have enough to do as it is."
>
> "Maybe we need to re-look at our pit bull ban and see if there's
> some way we can help close that gap . maybe put in place a
> dangerous dog act, just look at it differently," Madison
> continued.
>
> The lawsuit by the Animal Law Center isn't the only lawsuit
> Denver is facing. There are at least eight individuals who have
> or are currently pursuing or considering lawsuits against the
> city.
>
> The most prominent case is one filed in 2007 by pit bull advocate
> Sonya Dias. The city is spending thousands of dollars defending
> itself against the lawsuit.
>
> Dias was forced to sell her home in Denver to save her pit bull
> Gryffindor. She hopes the continued pressure will lead to a
> repeal of the ban.
>
> "Any sort of societal change takes time, and thank God we're
> moving toward more wiser laws and maybe a little compassion
> thrown in there as well," said Dias. "I think it's going to
> change, no matter what. What we're doing, and what the
> ADA-oriented lawsuit has done is just pushing that to make it
> happen a little faster."
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com

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