Texas Dog Owners, Please Act Now
- From: John Yates <asda@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:57:52 -0500
Texas Legislation Would Restore
Constitution For Animal Owners
Please Support House Bill 1046 To Fight Against
Robbery Of Rights For Seizures, Forced Euthanasia
by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
asda@xxxxxxxxxxx
This article is archived at:
http://eaglerock814.proboards107.com/index.cgi?
action=display&board=general&thread=31
AUSTIN, TX – In Texas, a not guilty verdict can be a dog owner’s worst
nightmare.
Under current law, even if a dog owner conclusively proves her or his
innocence of animal cruelty charges in a court of law and is fully
exonerated, it would be too late to save his or her dogs from
confiscation, forced adoption, sterilization and death.
The verdict is not guilty.
But the dogs are dead.
Animal rights groups think that’s a good idea, and are fighting hard to
keep this law. They care nothing about the Constitution or basic civil
rights in their fanatic persecution of animal owners. In their eyes, dog
owners should be branded with the Mark of Cain.
Dog owners are trying to restore the Constitution to animal cruelty cases
by supporting House Bill 1046, but were badly outgunned by animal rights
extremists in a committee hearing last week. At the hearing, 23 animal
rights activists lined up against HB 1046, while only eight advocates of
the rights of dog owners showed up to support it.
Many of the people who lined up against the bill are closely associated
with the radical Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the ultra-
radical People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Others
represented repressive animal control agencies, including a delegation
from the City of Dallas.
A vote was not taken, but HB 1046 remains before the House Committee on
Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence. A committee vote could come at any
time. If the bill passes the committee, it would move to the full House
for consideration.
In the strongest possible terms, the American Sporting Dog Alliance urges
all Texas dog owners, sportsmen, farmers and ranchers to contact members
of this committee immediately to express support for HB 1046.
Current Law
The current law is a horror story for animal owners and strongly reflects
the animal rights agenda of turning animal owners into second class
citizens and denying them equal protection under the law.
Current law allows posses of animal rights vigilantes to act under the
guise of law to sweep down on dog owners and seize animals, and then
railroad the case though a magisterial hearing for an order to forcibly
confiscate the animals and dispose of them.
Railroading is not too strong of a description of the process. A dog owner
is given only a few days (if that!) before a hearing to hire an attorney,
gather evidence, find witnesses and prepare his or her defense. During
this period, the dog owner can expect to be the target of inflammatory
news coverage and stigmatization by the community.
At the hearing, the dog owner will face an intimidating array of animal
control officers, animal cruelty officers, animal rights activists posing
as expert witnesses, and municipal prosecutors.
A fair hearing is impossible under this scenario.
Moreover, dog owners are granted only a single hearing, and are not given
the right to a trial. There is no trial. No jury. No recourse. No appeal.
It’s a kangaroo court, plain and simple. If you lose, you’re screwed, and
so are your beloved dogs.
A loss before this kind of kangaroo court allows your dogs to be
confiscated by animal control officers, turned over to animal shelters,
spayed or neutered, sold at auction, put up for adoption or killed.
There is nothing you can do about it. There is no place to turn.
However, dog owners will be assessed court costs including paying for the
cost of the investigation, paying for expert witnesses for the
prosecution, paying for the cost of caring for the dogs after they are
seized, paying for the costs of an auction, and even paying for the dogs’
euthanization. There is no limit to these costs, and an accused dog owner
would face bankruptcy.
And there is no appeal.
This law can be found in Section 821.022 through 821.025 of the Texas
Health and Safety Code. Please read this frightening law for yourself.
Here is a link:
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/HS/content/htm/hs.010.00.000821..0
0.htm#821.022.00 .
How can dog owners’ rights be denied? After all, there is a Constitution
and Bill of Rights, isn’t there? How could it happen?
Current law is a legal sleight of hand to turn criminal law into civil law
under health and safety codes. The criminal code prosecution is separate,
and happens far after the civil code hearing and confiscation, when it is
too late to save your dogs.
By hiding behind civil court procedures, the law denies an accused dog
owner the right to a jury trial, court trial and appeal. The dog owner
cannot even cross-examine witnesses against him or her, under the law.
Current law allows an appeal ONLY for a public auction of the animals. It
specifically forbids an appeal for confiscating n animal in order to turn
its ownership over to an animal shelter, in order to put it up for
adoption, force sterilization or to kill it.
Needless to say, animal rights fanatics love this law.
House Bill 1046
The best way to understand HB 1046 is to read it for yourself. It is short
and simple.
Here is a direct link:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HB01046I.htm
In reading the bill, please note that is the actual text of part of the
existing law. The language that the bill would remove from the law is
covered with a strike-through line. New language that would be inserted is
underlined.
Here is what HB 1046 does:
· It restores the right of appeal from a magisterial court to a
county court.
· While the appeal is in progress, ownership of the dogs cannot be
transferred to an animal shelter or animal control agency.
· The dogs cannot be forcibly euthanized or sold while the appeal is
in progress.
· In order to appeal, the dog owner must post a bond to guarantee
the costs of caring for the animals while the appeal is being decided. The
amount of the bond is set by the county court, not by the magistrate.
Those simple changes will preserve the basic rights of dog owners to
follow the same legal process that is granted to any accused killer,
rapist or thief.
The animal rights groups are screaming bloody murder about it. These
fanatics want the law to be a bludgeon to beat dog owners into submission..
I won’t mince words. The animal rights groups are fascists. The kinds of
laws they advocate are characteristic of a fascist state, and are utterly
in opposition to the principles of American law under the Constitution and
Bill of Rights. A typical animal cruelty raid bears far more resemblance
to a ruthless gang of Nazi Brown Shirts than it does to the American
concept of justice.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance is a staunch and unwavering advocate of
freedom and civil liberties. We will not agree to any law that compromises
the Bill of Rights or trashes the Constitution. Current Texas law does
exactly that.
While we sincerely congratulate the sponsors of HB 1046 for defending
freedom, we also are urging them to go farther. We are asking them to add
language to HB 1046 that would allow the animals to stay with their
owners, unless it can be proven before a county court judge that they are
in immediate danger.
What You Need To Do
It is imperative for Texas dog owners to contact every member of the House
committee to express your strong support for HB 1046. This must be done
quickly, as the committee could vote on the legislation at any time.
The time to act is NOW!
Please write, fax, phone and/or email the members of the House Judiciary
and Civil Jurisprudence Committee:
· Rep. Todd Hunter (Chair) - todd.hunter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone
(512) 463-0672 – fax (512)463-2101
· Rep. Bryan Hughes (Vice-Chair) - bryan.hughes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -
phone (512) 463-0271 – fax (512) 463-1515
· Rep. Roberto Alonzo - roberto.alonzo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone
(512) 463-0408 – fax (512) 463-1817
· Rep. Dan Branch - dan.branch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone (512) 463-
0367 – fax (512) 322-9935
· Rep. Will Hartnett - will.hartnett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone (512)
463-0576 – fax (512) 463 -7827
· Rep. Jim Jackson - jim.jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone (512) 463-
0468 – fax (512) 463-1044
· Rep. David Leibowitz - david.leibowitz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone
(512) 463-0269 – fax (512) 320-0555
· Rep. Tryon Lewis - tryon.lewis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone (512 463-
0546 – fax (512) 463-8067
· Rep. Jerry Madden - jerry.madden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - phone (512)
463-0544 – fax (512) 463-9974
· Rep. Armando “Mando”Martinez - mando.martinez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -
phone (512) 463-0530 – fax (512) 463-0849
· Rep. Beverly Woolley - beverly.woolley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - (512)
463-0696 – fax (512) 463-9333
Letters and faxes are best, followed by phone calls and emails.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance also is asking all dog owners to
contact the sponsors and co-sponsors of HB 1046. Please thank them for
their support of dog owners, and their commitment to the Constitution and
Bill of Rights.
They are:
· Sponsor – Rep, Mark Homer:
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=3&rep=mark.homer
· Co-sponsor – Rep. Rep Dan Flynn:
· http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist2/flynn.php
· Co-sponsor - Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson:
· http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist56/anderson.php
· Co-sponsor - Rep. Drew Darby:
· http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist72/darby.php
We also urge dog owners to actively support at least one organization that
fights hard to protect the rights of dog owners. We would be honored with
your support.
We also highly recommend supporting the Texas-based Responsible Pet Owners
Alliance, Inc. Here is a link to the RPOA website:
http://www.responsiblepetowners.org/ . This group has been at the
forefront in animal issues in Texas for many years.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and
professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We
also welcome people who work with other breeds, as legislative issues
affect all of us. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the
rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships
between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society
and life. The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that
we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your
membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success
of our mission. We are funded solely by your donations in order to
maintain strict independence.
Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org ..
Our email is asda@xxxxxxxxxxxx .
PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS
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