Minnesota State Rep. proposes bill to ban "dangerous" dogs

Responding to several recent Metro Area dog attacks, Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) unveiled legislation this summer to ban certain dangerous breeds of dogs. Lesch said that the dogs represent a threat to public safety.

"I'm tired of reading in the paper that another child has been attacked by a vicious dog," Lesch said. "At some point, we have to admit that these animals are just too dangerous and it’s time to get them off our streets."

According to the press release issued by the State Office, Lesch's bill would make the following breeds of dogs illegal: the Akita, the Pit Bull, the Rottweiler, the Wolf Hybrid and the Chow Chow. Owning a dog of any of these breeds would be a misdemeanor. A CDC Report in 2000 identified these breeds as some of the most dangerous, accounting for over half of the dog bites related deaths between 1979 and 1998.

"Certainly any dog can be dangerous if it is poorly trained or mistreated, but these breeds show a disposition towards aggression," Lesch said. "There are dozens upon dozens of different varieties of dogs in the world, there is no reason why anyone has to own a dog as dangerous as a pit bull."

Lesch's bill will be considered when the Legislature reconvenes in February of next year.

Below is a letter to the State Representative from my very good friend, Mikey T., regarding the proposed bill.
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Dear Rep. John Lesch,

Please take into consideration the following questions before you make this argument about banning certain breeds of dogs.

How many accidents, injuries or deaths are caused by drunk driving? Is alcohol banned? Are vehicles banned?

How many homicides or deaths are caused by firearms? Are firearms banned?

How many injuries are caused by skateboarding, biking, inline skating, skiing, snowboarding, ATVs and motorcycles? Are any of those sports, products for those sports, or events including those sports banned?

I know of many people who own those breeds of dogs that you are considering to ban and they have not caused one incident. Please use your common sense and understand that the owners are to be held responsible for the actions of their dog.

Regards,

Michael Thielmann

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Please weigh in with your comments and let us know whether or not you support the bill. Also, stay tuned for the Representative's response and Thielmann's rebuttal.

Another Disaster

I thought that after the Katrina tragedy the government would be more vigilant with the maintenance of our very important infrastructure. Our infrastructure consists of our levies sewers, highways and bridges. When I got news that the 35W bridge collapsed with no warning my first thoughts were of concern for the safety of my friends and loved ones who may have been on or near the bridge at the time of the collapse. Then I thought how could this happen in the United States of America, how could a functioning bridge just collapse with no warning? Was it a terrorist attack?

Hours after the collapse we were assured that it was not a terrorist attack, however, we the citizens are still wondering what happened. Well, recently we have learned that the bridge was deemed structurally deficient; meaning the bridge could not carry the traffic it was designed to accommodate. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that a bridge that was built in 1967 probably was not designed to support 167,000 or more cars a day. Thus, similar to the levies in Katrina that could no longer withstand the waters from the floods, the 35W bridge could no longer withstand the stress of the vehicles that it was never designed to accomodate. Proper funding could have solved this problem and likley prevented the casualties that occured because of the collaspe.

Highway repairs are funded in part by state and federal tax dollars. When we as tax payers lobby to avoid new taxes or higher taxes we neglect projects such as maintainance and repair of the 35W bridge.

As tax payers we often complain about higher taxes or more taxes. As we have learned from this event and the Katrina tragedy, a lack of funding has left our infrastructures ill equipped to handle the tragedies that they were designed to prevent.

I do not support unnecessary taxes, however, I do support taxes that may save lives and prevent horrible tragedies like Katrina and more recently the collapse of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis, MN. So I would say next time a politician campaigns on the slogan "No new taxes" think about these tragedies and ask yourself is it worth it?

Thoughtfully,

CRF