On Monday, November 11, 2013, the Ringsted, Iowa City Council voted against a pit bull ban, 3-2 in a third and final reading of the proposed ban.   The council asked for feedback about the ordinance and they got it as most who attended Monday’s meeting were opposed to breed-specific legislation (BSL) in any form.   Only Councilmen Darryl Anderson and Wayne Kruse voted in favor of the ban.

Ringsted resident Charley James, who was kind enough to stop by this site and leave us a comment about the good news about Ringsted, and we thank him for it, had this to say following Monday’s meeting:

“Right now there are about six messy lawsuits regarding breed-specific legislation going through the pipeline,” said James, adding that a person can’t tell whether a dog is a pit bull just by looking at it. His solution, rather, was to enforce existing leash laws and other ordinances (Estherville Daily News).

Echoing Mr. James was Spencer pit bull owner Stephanie O’Brien who said,  

“All of us are on the same page here. We want to keep the residents of Ringsted safe.”

O’Brien said existing leash laws should handle any problem.

Ms. O’Brien is right.   First and foremost we in the dog lobby care about safety and responsible dog ownership no matter what the breed.   That’s why we argue so vehemently against BSL.   We know BSL is ineffective, and therefore doesn’t keep any community safer.  

So if Ringsted hasn’t even enforced its leash law, then Mr. James and Ms. O’Brien are right.   That’s a really good place for Ringsted to start.

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