Profiling dog lovers in Lancaster, California

Profiling dog lovers in Lancaster PETA's Ingrid Newkirk does her happy dance California's SB 861 slices off human testicles, too Mayor Parris wants certain dogs, and certain dog owners, gone by sundown. Basing himself on HSUS's "pit bulls are the preferred dog of gang-bangers, drug dealers. . ." fake factoid, Parris and the City of Lancaster are proud of their new breed specific mandatory spay neuter ordinance. They see it as an anti-gang tool. Dog law? Or covert racism? Sucking up to his audience's worst fears, Parris says he has no problem with calculated harassment of certain residents and welcomed the ordinance, which is based on extreme negative stereotypes of both dogs and owners. Critics fear the Lancaster ordinance will lead to profiling of young black and Latino men seen with "pit bulls" or Rottweilers as gang-bangers. Parris wasn't concerned: "I have no desire to help [gang-bangers]. The only thing I want to do is crush them and remove them from the community." Kindly, gently annihilating dogs California's infamous SB 861, supported and co-authored by members of the "humane" movement, opened the door for local ordinances like Lancaster's. Breed specific mandatory surgical removal of reproductive organs is spreading in California. Now Rottweilers and Rottweilers owners have been caught in the crossfire. Love does not discriminate, except in the Golden State where the "humane" movement helped dismantle the protections state law once offered by prohibiting breed profiling. Bad Rap's Excellent Adventure in Legislation The slickest pit bull "rescue" in the country helped write SB 861 -- rationalizing what they did as "re-tooling the preamble of the bill to outline the intent of the bill and to remove the 'dangerous and vicious' language that was going to flatten all of us." As Bad Rap tap dances as best they can, they claim they "officially" opposed SB 861. But how can you collaborate on a proposal and oppose it as the same time? Bad Rap hasn't had a whole lot to say about the Lancaster ordinance, but PETA and Ingrid Newkirk are thrilled. Of course, Ingrid would happily kill every dog Bad Rap wants to find a home for. R. Rex Parris' hate campaign for the eradicatation of pit bulls gang-bangers Bad Rap thinks they removed the language that was going to "flatten" us. Apparently not. It looks like everyone didn't get that memo. Successful lawyer and newbie Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster, California campaigned on a law-and-order, gang-eradication platform. And he sure loves to shoot off his mouth: "I want gangs out of Lancaster," Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a recent interview. "I want to make it uncomfortable for them to be here. Anything they like, I want to take it away from them. I want to deliberately harass them.... "It's really like [gangs] having a weapon that they are allowed to display and intimidate people," Parris said. "If they have a pit bull, they may as well put a sign on their head saying, 'Come get me.' " Then there was:

“I want to deliberately harass the gangs. We will take their dogs; we will take their cars,”

Making it easy for Mayor Parris Think I'm coming down too hard on old Bad Rap? Did I singled them out unfairly? Self-inflicted wounds hurt the most, but let's run the list of the other "humane" organizations and supporters of SB 861. Bad Rap wasn't the only adventurer that took part in the SB 861 feeding-frenzy. Who else helped enable Mayor R. Rex Parris' fear-driven eradication campaign? Step out from the shadows and hang your heads in shame. . . . City and County of San Francisco Counties of Los Angeles, Napa, Tehama Cities of Apple Valley, Concord, Fremont, San Jose, Santa Rosa, West Hollywood Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue Action for Animals Animal Defense League Animal Issues Movement Animal Legislation Action Network Animal Place Animal Switchboard Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights California Animal Control Directors Association California Association of Nurse Anesthetists California Lobby for Animal Welfare Contra Costa Humane Society Doris Day Animal League Friends of Long Beach Animals League of California Cities Peninsula Humane Society PETA United Activists for Animal Rights United Animal Nations Lessons learned? Mayor Parris is busy keeping his hate campaign alive. He doesn't have time to thank those that paved the way for him. I just hope that the members of some of these groups are beginning to understand the terrible repercussions of bad legislation. Innocent dog owners, and innocent dogs, are being hurt by SB 861. Good dogs are dying. There's no such thing as "just a little discrimination." Discrimination cannot be "retooled" into anything more acceptable. Love Does Not Discriminate Pit bull owners know it. Rottweiler owners know it. I believe most dog owners know it. Never, never let public servants -- or humane organizations -- in your community get away with it. _____________________________ Couple of other things: Noted with pleasure: Dogs White People Like Department of "forgot to mention before": Handy dandy contact information for Lancaster, CA

• City Council phone number: 661-723-6019
• email Mayor Parris at rrparris@cityoflancasterca.org

and, last but not least. . .

• Report a hate crime in Lancaster, California (877)728-7322 (7-AT-PEACE)