Aurora City Council Member Wants Pit Bull Ban Lifted
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- An Aurora city council member is proposing that the city lift its ban on pit bull breed dogs. Councilman Charlie Robinson asked the city attorney's office to draft a dangerous animal ordinance that punishes behavior instead of breed.
"[Pit bulls] were associated with gangs at one time. They were associated with macho-aggressive behavior. They were associated with dog fighting and we've come a long way," said Robinson.
A separate ordinance in Aurora would specifically exempt the American Bully breed of dog from the city's restricted-breed ordinance. Robinson says the breed ban is difficult to enforce, and some pit bull owners are finding ways around the rules.
"People are now taking their pit bulls and converting them into service animals. That's a huge loophole," said Robinson, "Let's not close our eyes and ignore reality. Let's come up with a really effective and strong law."
The proposed ordinance would establish new language regarding aggressive, potentially dangerous and dangerous animals and remove the city's restricted-breed ordinance.
"My proposal could result in a negligent dog owner being denominated by the court as a reckless dog owner, and having all kinds of additional restrictions put on the dog," said Robinson.
The City of Castle Rock lifted its ban on pit bulls in 2018 and replaced it with a similar policy that examines behavior to determine if a dog is dangerous.
Richardson says he doesn't have much support from other council members at the moment, but 62% of the people he surveyed support the ban being lifted. He doesn't expect any action on his proposed ban lift until November.
