Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Friday, February 22, 2013

Maryland House Passes Dog Bill

ANNAPOLIS - The Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday unanimously passed legislation rendering moot a court decision singling out pit bulls as inherently vicious and dangerous dogs.

The bill would require a dog owner to prove that his or her dog is not dangerous if the owner is sued when the animal bites someone. Maryland currently operates under the so-called "One Bite" doctrine, where a bite victim has to prove a dog is dangerous and has bitten somebody before if he or she want to sue its owner. Critics have said this gives all dogs one free bite.

The measure would hold the dog owner solely responsible in any lawsuits stemming from a bite, protecting landlords or dog walkers or anybody else from being sued when a dog bites somebody.

More 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bite me.

Anonymous said...

Are we talking about just a "bite?" Because the stories I hear about pittbulls who attack aren't just bites; they shred the flesh off people and kill.

Should we re-word it as "one free KILL?"

Anonymous said...

People fear , what they are not familiar, or have been taugh to fear.and for example....I bet Anonymous 4:36 never owned a Pitbull! Just news portrait paint by a media that is doom & gloom .....Another idiot ......

Anonymous said...

The sad state of America.

Whenever the conversation of Pit Bulls comes up, everyone talks about how the breed isn't the problem... the owners are.

On the topic of gun control, it flips, so they can go after law abiding citizens.

Susan Hoban said...

Come on people, a Pit Bull is a dog just like every other dog. He doesn't bite any different than every other dog. The big difference among all breeds is size, obviously the bigger the dog the bigger the bite. Pit Bulls don't even have the strongest jaw pressure. Why is a dog that was one of America's favorites in the early to mid 1900's now being villianized? Use common sense and don't assume any dog is bad because of what breed it is.