OH - Whitehall Breed Ban Voted Down 5-2
Apparently some of the law-makers in Ohio understand that banning a specific breed of dog does nothing to protect or insure public safety. I applaud those right-minded Council members that voted against this ridiculous proposed ban on pit bulls.
WHITEHALL, Ohio—The heated debate over whether to ban vicious dogs like pitbulls took an unexpected turn in one Central Ohio community.
The City of Whitehall was deciding whether to ban the animals from their town. Whitehall City Council wasn’t supposed to vote on the issue for another two weeks. However, Councilmember Chris Rodriguez asked to suspend the rules and make an immediate decision.
Rodriguez says the citizens deserve better than the continued theatrics surrounding the issue and wanted to get this issue off the table.
Councilmember Jacquelyn Thompson-who proposed the ordinance-says she was surprised by the rule suspension and believes it was planned.
The proposed ordinance was voted down with a 5-2 vote.
The debate isn’t over just yet. Councilmember Leslie Lacorte says she is going to propose an ordinance to put the issue up for vote by citizens on the November ballot. Currently, vicious dog owners are required to put up a six foot fence, have liability insurance and to have their dogs microchipped.
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For those of you that are here looking for facts, here are some relative to the State of Ohio and dog bite fatalities.
Over the past 44 years (1965 – present) there have been 18 fatal dog attacks in Ohio, an average of one (1) fatality every 2 to 3 years.
At least eleven (11) different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in these attacks.
The victims were 6 adults and 12 children.
Nearly half (5 out of 12) of the children killed were attacked when they approached chained or penned dogs. Four (4) of the other children were infants (< 2 months old) who had been left unsupervised with unfamiliar dogs.
All the dogs involved in fatal attacks in Ohio were intact (not spayed or neutered).
At least four (4) Ohio dog owners were charged with actively encouraging their dog(s) to be aggressive, or with commanding their dog to attack a person. Two were convicted and sentenced to incareration.
J. Mann was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of restraining his girlfriend and repeatedly ordering his dog to attack her. (1992)
M. Crawley was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 6 months in jail after he repeatedly allowed his dogs to roam loose. The dogs had mauled one woman, and then killed another woman in a separate incident. (2003).
Two other Ohio dog owners were charged with involuntary manslaughter, but not convicted, though prosecutors were satisifed that criminal negligence in maintaining and controlling their dogs appeared to contribute directly to the deaths of the victims.
In spite of the recklessness, even malice, of some owners, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in Ohio:
| Ohio: Recognized Risks | Year 2005 |
| Tobacco-related fatalities | 18,600 |
| Total (alcohol & non) traffic deaths | 1,321 |
| Alcohol-related traffic fatalities | 519 |
| Persons drowned in tub or swimming pool | 29 |
| Bicycle-related fatalities | 16 |
| ATV-related fatalities | 15 |
| Death from contact w/bees, hornets, wasps | 4 |
| Persons killed by lightning | 1 |
| Persons killed by dogs | 0 |
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
In 2005, 83 Ohio children died as the result of maltreatment (abuse, neglect).
In a single year, 2005, more than seven times as many Ohio children died from maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 44 years.
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Fact is, people in Ohio routinely accept far greater risks from swimming pools, ATVs and bicycles than any that are associated with companion animals.
National Canine Research Council
Now, let’s understand this…
In 44 years 18 people were killed by dogs, not pit bulls exclusively but all dog breeds. In 2005 83 kids were killed by their parents yet valuable legislative time is spent discussing banning pit bulls. Go figure!