Mississippi introduces insane "Dangerous Dogs" bill

Four Republican law makers in Mississippi have introduced a bill that would allow police to enter a home without a warrant, if a Pit Bull, or other "dangerous" breed is present. The bill would also allow them to kill the dog if any two of the following three conditions are met:

The dogs are "not under proper restraint when on the premises of its owner."
They aren't wearing vaccination tags on their necks.
They are still running around after "attempts to peacefully capture the dog have been made and proven unsuccessful."

Under the definition as written, if the dog was a tiny percent Pit Bull, it would give the police the right to enter your home and search it. Many dogs are misidentified as Pit Bulls, raising more concerns.

In a fit of sanity, 19 states have recently removed anti-Pit regulations.

Far beyond the concern about the dog breed, is the fact that this bill completely removes Fourth Amendment protections. The police potentially be able to use the entry to check the dog to look for other evidence. If you are a convicted felon, you are prohibited under the law to own, or live in the same household as a dangerous dog.

The bill currently has been sent to the Judiciary B committee, and it's not clear if a hearing or vote has been scheduled.

Mississippi state lawmakers have introduced a first-of-its-kind bill that would, in part, allow police officers, without a warrant, to enter any home where they believe a pit bull or other "dangerous dog" might be present.

In addition, under House Bill 1261, police may kill the animals if two of the following three factors apply:
The dogs are "not under proper restraint when on the premises of its owner."
They aren't wearing vaccination tags on their necks.
They are still running around after "attempts to peacefully capture the dog have been made and proven unsuccessful."
The measure, also known as the Mississippi Regulation of Dangerous Dogs Act, is meant to "create civil and criminal penalties for failing to keep dangerous dogs securely confined and under restraint, and for failing to meet certain requirements designed to protect the public."

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Link to bill

a reply to: Zaphod58

According to publish accounts, 66 per cent of ALL dog bites in the US are pit bull related.
My dislike for the breed goes back to bad experiences even before I ever heard the name pit bull.
That said, I have a son that has two.

I don't believe in pet ownership.

Ain't eating animals enough for us?

That bill is another no go.

4th amendment violation with the 9th.

Utter BS.

Mississippi state lawmakers have introduced a first-of-its-kind bill that would, in part, allow police officers, without a warrant, to enter any home where they believe a pit bull or other "dangerous dog" might be present.

F U very much. That is freaking ridiculous. Considering how hard it is to determine dog breeds when dealing with a mutt, and that this basically gives police carte blanche to enter premises and just say they thought there was a pit bull, I'm amazed anyone would even consider this legislation.

The dogs are "not under proper restraint when on the premises of its owner."

Vague.

They aren't wearing vaccination tags on their necks.

Screw you, things happen, dogs lose tags, and if I'm leaving my dog at home I take his collar off because I worry it may get caught on something.

They are still running around after "attempts to peacefully capture the dog have been made and proven unsuccessful."

Not even if the dog is being a menace, just if someone can't catch the dog. I would have trouble catching my dog if he got out and decided it would be fun to get chased. Not all dogs are going to trot up to someone they don't know.

I personally love pit bulls, but even if you hate the breed you better realize how f-ed up this law is. They certainly aren't going to be doing a genetic test to ascertain if the dog actually has any pit in it. This is basically a perfect way to search anyone's premises that own a dog.

a reply to: Aliensun

The problem is, even if you read the CDC dog bite records, there's no actual Pit Bull breed. The Pit Bull consists of four or five different types of dogs, such as the Staffordshire Terrier, the American Bull Dog, and others. People have labeled them as Pit Bulls for a long time, but if you read the CDC statistics, a large portion of the Pit Bull dog bites are listed as "Pit Bull Type", meaning that the dog looked like what people identify as a Pit Bull.

a reply to: Zaphod58

They are still running around after "attempts to peacefully capture the dog have been made and proven unsuccessful."

As any Dog will do because "peacefully" catching a Dog is what they see as "playtime"...

So of course, it will be repeatedly unsuccessful...


What a murderous scumbag mentality.

I have seen some really nice pit bulls and some dangerous ones.

The bad ones were a product of the owners (my wife's now dead brother used to raise and fight the dogs)

I don't know enough to be an expert on the breed but there does seem to be evidence that the dog overall has tendencies for aggressiveness. That don't mean there can't be some wonderful ones but all it takes is for a couple to go bad to give the whole breed a bad name.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Basically people are dumb and blame the bites on pit bulls because there is a huge stigma regarding the breed. Well, it was a dog, it wasn't a poodle, must have been a pit bull.

That in turn inflates the numbers, in turn making people more wary and prone to label a dog a pit bull, then the cycle repeats.

There used to be this fear with Dobermans too.

Regardless of the breed, this law is complete nonsense and no one should be supporting it. It isn't going to make anyone safer. The kind of asshat that has a dangerous pit bull and leaves it unsecured isn't going to give a flying F about this.

Here's a little something from the Humane Society:

Most breed-specific laws are created as a misguided response to a dog bite incident or attack. There are a number of reasons BSL does not protect citizens from dog bites, including:

There is no credible evidence to demonstrate that any particular breed or type is overrepresented among biting dogs. Professional animal expert organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, have found that no breed is more dangerous than another.

Identifying breeds is often subjective and unreliable. For example, the term “pit bull” usually encompasses three separate breeds, along with any mixes of those breeds. Any medium-sized dog with short hair and a squarish muzzle could meet most people’s visual perception of a “pit bull” dog—including hound mixes, retriever mixes, and other dogs with no “pit bull” ancestry. Clearly, the larger the dog, the greater the potential damage if he or she bites, but no one breed or type is more genetically programmed to bite than others.

BSL is nearly impossible to enforce. It often ends up being created as a reactionary measure to a bite incident that ignores the true scope of the problem. As a result, there’s no scientific data that proves breed-specific measures have ever been effective at eliminating dog bites.

Underfunded animal-control agencies bear the brunt of the burden, as BSL creates unrealistic mandates that take dogs out of homes and into shelters. These shelters then must endure the burden of housing—and often euthanizing—family dogs who posed no bite risk.

Why Breed-Specific Legislation Doesn’t Work.

a reply to: Domo1

I particularly liked the "under proper restraint while on the premises of the owner" bit.

Uh...what? My dog is inside. Now they want to tell me I have to restrain my dog while its inside? First I have to leave his collar on, because tags and such. But then I have to restrain him? It doesn't even specify that they mean while outside the residence but still on the property. They leave that intentionally vague.

I guess having a good fence doesn't mean properly restrained anymore.

a reply to: mwood

I've seen dogs that were used as bait and fighting dogs that were rescued, that were the most loving dogs you've ever seen towards the people that rescued them and adopted them. Even towards other dogs.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Yeah that was freaking great. Statistically a dog thats chained up is more likely to bit too...

This chaps my glorious ass. What if a neighbor with a grudge claims your dog is 1/2 pitbull. Someone shows up at your house, your dog is playing in the backyard without a collar, no warrant needed they take the dog.

a reply to: Shamrock6

I like the part where if you're a convicted felon, you no longer even have a right to own, or live with a dog. You know someone will say it's part Pit Bull, or some other "dangerous" breed.

a reply to: Domo1

Take the dog? You mean they shoot the dog and leave it. Because that's what it sounds to me like the more likely outcome would be with this bill.

My dog has giant, enormous head and neck. And is short haired. OMG ITS A PIT BULL!!! Eh...no. He's not. He's not even mixed with pit. And his vet will be happy to explain in great detail that he's not, because he absolutely loathes the stigma that has been attached to pits because of some backwards inbred ignorant jackbags who have nothing better to do than fight dogs.

a reply to: Shamrock6

I used to be scared of them. Then we bought one, that was the runt of the litter. He's still tiny, at two years old. But sweet Jesus you've never seen a dog that loves people as much as this thing. He'll literally choke himself out if we let him, trying to get to someone to say hi. You will never convince him that anyone that walks on two legs is on the planet for anything besides being his best buddy.

As most of you know by now I'm from Mississippi. And I'm sorry to say it's true.
The problem is that there is an disproportionate amount of poor (black) people caught up in thug culture who have a pit bull chained to every tree. It's a status symbol. Well every couple of months a dog will get loose a kill a small child. After that happened about ten times in three years legislators feel pressure to do something.
In fact my county is one of the last counties in Mississippi that even allows pit bulls.
It's sad really. I've had a couple and they really are the best dogs in the world if raised right.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Does he do the pit bull wag where he basically folds himself in half super fast with that smile? The little guy I had just adored everyone. He was also a rather prolific blanket stealer and insisted on being under the covers.

a reply to: Domo1

Oh yeah. He wiggles, and even at two years old, he'll sometimes get so excited he'll forget himself and pee. And yeah, he insists on being under the blanket, and will even use our pillows as pillows, with the blanket covering him up to his neck.

We took in a female dog from another trucker that we were afraid was going to just dump her at the truck stop. This was his reaction.

BS laws are BS...overload them with emails if you want to help stop it.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Snuggle bull. He's a good looking boy. She's adorable.

Very invasive indeed. Legislators that want to break privacy laws will find example within this using it for BSL and "any dog" they see fit under this law. Probably in their noted nuisance neighborhoods first, then on to city areas.

Problem with BSL on the American Pitt Bull Terriers, is any dog that resembles a bully-is often accused of being one. Shelter mistakenly label many apparent mixed breeds(because it being confusing at times, and those who are volunteering but are not too familiar with breeds yet) as Lab mixes and sometimes APBT, that way a lot of people adopting may not even know the dog's mixture.