Florida House Bill HB0543...sponsored by Representative Perry E. Thurston
Senate Bill S1276...sponsored by Senator Hill
Stop Florida From Targeting Breeds
Write your State Representative today
The Florida State House may consider lifting the ban on local breed specific laws. State Representative Perry E. Thurston, Jr. has introduced HB 543, following an interim report commissioned by the Senate Community Affairs Committee which recommended that local governments be granted the right under their home rule authority to enact breed specific regulations such as registering, muzzling, neutering, or destroying the dog.
Under the existing Florida Statute Chapter 767.14, local governments are prohibited from declaring a dog as dangerous based solely on its breed. While the committee recommendation does not go so far as to enable breed bans, it would allow restrictions and requirements based on breed.
Hey folks! As you are well aware Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement will be in downtown St. Petersburg on January 30th for a “walk” to bring public awareness to HB 543. Everyone is encouraged to bring and walk with a sign!!! We will kick off the walk at Carla’s shop…..Healthy Paws, 2250 Central Avenue (the southeast corner of 23rd Street and Central Ave.), St. Petersburg, FL 33713. We will take the pavement promptly at 10:00 am.
We’ve got two very exciting things going on….actually three!
First…..for the entire month of January Healthy Paws has a Saturday “Clean-Up” special….a Wash N Go (consisting of bath, towel dry, ears cleaned and nail trim) for only $10 for dogs under 20 lbs and $15 for dogs from 20-70 lbs. You can’t beat that with a stick as they say! Healthy Paws opens at 7 am so come early and take advantage of this special offer! Make sure you read the flyer….this is a first come; first serve opportunity.
Second…..Mid Florida will pay for a Wash-N-Go to the person who turns in the most signed petitions attached here for HB543! All you have to do is print off as many copies of the petition that you can get signed, and turn them in to us (MFAPBTA/PBPP) at Healthy Paws following our walk on January 30th! Whoever turns in the most gets the paid Wash-N-Go…well….your dog gets the Wash-N-Go…not the person! Giggles… In addition to the Wash N Go, the person with the most signatures will also receive a complementary pass on the "Howl at the Moon" Shell Key Shuttle Cruise. Good for one adult and 1 canine companion ($25 value). And a complementary subscription toThe New Barker magazine ($16 value).
The persons with the 2nd & 3rdmost signatures, will also receive a complementary subscription to The New Barker magazine ($16 value.
We aim to flood the offices of our Representatives with these petitions.
Third…..following our walk, PBPP will fire up the grill for hamburgers and hotdog platters, fresh potato or macaroni salad, chips and a drink for a $5 donation. We are hoping to have as many of our bay area pit bull organizations as possible out to help bring awareness to HB 543 which has already gone to committee! There is plenty of room in the parking lot for Tampa Bay Bullies, Rugaz Rescue, and Pit Stop Bully Rescue to come on out, pop your tents, string up your banners, help educate the public, offer responsible owner and handling tips and have some fun for the entire afternoon!
We will also have our trainer, Duane Bryant, out with us for obedience demonstrations and to answer any training tips you may have. As well, Joe, with Tampa Bay Bullies, will be available for training and handling tips too! It is the mission of MFAPBTA/PBPP to get as many pit bulls CGC’d as possible this year!
Complete list of 2010 Florida House of Representatives
Complete list of 2010 Florida Senators
An online version of the petition is available here.
Please write the following Representatives in regards to opposing HB 543 and let them know that BSL is NOT the answer!!!
You can also go to NAIA Trust Capwiz Website and construct a letter to your Representative, Senator, or Governor.
Florida House of Representatives Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Committee
Larry Cretul, Speaker of the House of Representatives Larry.Cretul@myfloridahouse.gov
Trudi Williams, Chair Trudi.Williams@myfloridahouse.gov
Debbie Mayfield, Vice Chair Debbie.Mayfield@myfloridahouse.gov
Leonard Bembry, Leonard.Bembry@myfloridahouse.gov
Debbie Boyd Debbie.Boyd@myfloridahouse.gov
Mary Brandenburg Mary.Brandenburg@myfloridahouse.gov
Dwight Bullard Dwight.Bullard@myfloridahouse.gov
Rachel Burgin Rachel.Burgin@myfloridahouse.gov
Steve Crisafulli Steve.Crisafulli@myfloridahouse.gov
Greg Evers Greg.Evers@myfloridahouse.gov
Richard Glorioso Richard.Glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov
Bill Heller Bill.Heller@myfloridahouse.gov
Paige Kreegel Paige.Kreegel@myfloridahouse.gov
Jimmy Patronis Jimmy.Patronis@myfloridahouse.gov
You can also go to NAIA Trust Capwiz Website and construct a letter to your Representative, Senator, or Governor.
http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=14528641
This will take you directly to the site to construct your letter to send to your lawmakers regarding both House and Senate bills