PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Ask the Department of Justice to Intervene for Denver Pit Bulls and the Disabled
  1. Signatures
    789 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. Attorney General (Eric Holder)
  2. Created By
    Martin Matheny
    Athens, GA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Denver, Colorado drew the ire of pit bull supporters around the world over a decade ago when they enacted a sweeping pit bull ban. We know that breed-specific dog bite statistics are thoroughly unreliable and that breed-specific legislation is bad public policy. 

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice recognized that, and in revising the Americans With Disabilities Act, the DOJ made sure that local governments could not keep disabled persons from having specific dog breeds as service animals. Yet, even now, with the revised rules in effect, Denver's pit bull ban is still on the books. And, last December, Denver's City Council rejected a compromise measure that would allow exceptions to their law for service animals, essentially thumbing their nose at disabled persons, pit bull owners, and the federal government.

With the new ADA rules in place and Denver still refusing to yield, it's time for the Department of Justice to use their resources to make sure that Denver follows the law.

Photo credit: stephskardal

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Denver refuses to comply with the ADA

Greetings,

I was happy to learn last year that the Department of Justice, in revising the rules governing the Americans With Disabilities Act, chose to ensure that local governments could not ban the ownership of specific dog breeds as service animals. Recently, there have been too many cases of local governments enacting breed-specific legislation (such as pit bull bans) even though the statistics justifying these kinds of policies are extremely unreliable.

Unfortunately, one of those communities with breed-specific bans on its local books is Denver, Colorado. Worse, local elected officials refused to adapt their pit bull ban to comply with the ADA. (Another Colorado city, Aurora, has voted to comply with the law.) In addition to purposefully flouting the vital ADA, Denver officials have racked up over $15,000 in legal bills defending their wrongheaded legislation.

Enough is enough. Federal law is federal law, and it's time for Denver to comply. I urge you to put the resources of the Department of Justice to work and make sure Denver follows the law.

[Your name]

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