Denver Fails to Fix Pit Bull Ban for Department of Justice Deadline

If you're looking for the poster children for bad and bullheaded breed-specific legislation, it's hard to find better examples than Denver and Aurora, Colorado. Both cities passed pit bull bans years ago, drawing the ire of pit bull owners (as well as a handful of other breeds selected for the same more or less arbitrary reasons.)

Let's be clear about one thing. Dog bite statistics, at least the ones that purport to tell you how "dangerous" a particular breed is, are horribly unreliable. They're so unreliable, in fact, that the Centers for Disease Control, who knows a little something about public health statistics, refuses to even consider breed information in compiling bite stats.

Another federal agency that doesn't buy into the junk science behind breed-specific legislation hype is the Department of Justice. The DOJ last year revised the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow any breed of dog to be considered a service dog, including pit bulls. That, of course, put Denver and Aurora's local pit bull bans directly at odds with federal law; their ordinances ban pit bulls, no exceptions.

The ADA, as revised by the feds, says that you can have a pit bull as a service dog. Denver and Aurora could have made an exception to their local laws, or better yet, repealed the whole thing (since it's terrible public policy to begin with) and tried to create policy that holds owners accountable for their dogs' behavior, regardless of breed.

Instead, they chose to hold on to their breed-specific legislation. Doing that really only had a couple of measurable effects. First, it cost the taxpayers money — over $15K and counting — to fight a lawsuit challenging the ordinance. Second, it added advocates for the disabled to the growing list of people hacked off about the ban.

Now, it looks like Denver and Aurora may have a big problem on their hands. Their laws haven't changed, but the feds' ADA changes went into effect a week ago. It's about time for the Department of Justice to put its foot down and make sure Denver and Aurora are following the law.

In Aurora, at least, there's hope. Local leaders are getting the hint that you can't just ignore federal law and hope no one notices. They agreed back in February that they were going to comply with the ADA. The problem, for both Denver and Aurora, is that the anti-discrimination side of the ADA also prevents folks (like government officials) from asking intrusive questions about a person's disability, including the nature of it and why (of even if) they need a service animal. Basically, if your health care provider says you need a service animal, it's none of the government's business and they can get in trouble if they press the issue.

Aurora seems to be getting on the clue train; they're at least starting to talk about just repealing the breed ban altogether and replacing it with a much more sensible dangerous dog ordinance.

No such luck in Denver, where the best pit bull advocates are getting is some sort of vague assurance that the lawyers are reviewing alternatives. Last December, the Denver City Council rejected a service-dog exemption to their ordinance, effectively thumbing their nose at the Department of Justice and daring them to do something about it. Perhaps they should.

Tell the Department of Justice to intervene on behalf of pit bulls and the disabled.

Photo credit: audreyjim529