Texas towns talking about BSL or breed ban

[StopBSL]

Although Texas state law prohibits municipalities from passing BSL
(for details, see http://stopbsl.com/lawmaking/state-laws/#texas),
from time to time, either city officials or news media will bring it
up as if it's a possibility. Recently, we have seen two cities where
BSL has been brought up. I encourage you all to reach out to these
municipalities, especially if you live nearby. Please remind them
about our state law, and provide them with information and effective
breed-neutral alternatives.

***Three Rivers, Texas***
Full alert is here: http://stopbsl.com/2011/10/07/three-rivers-tx-town-may-consider-breed-ban/
The police chief in this town has suggested a ban on “pit bulls.”
Please send polite, respectful, informative correspondence to city
hall, advising city officials that a breed-specific law would be
illegal, and encouraging them to consider effective, nondiscriminatory
breed-neutral measures.
Contact information for Three Rivers:
City Hall, 105 Harborth Ave., PO Box 398, Three Rivers, Texas 78071
Voice: 361-786-2528
Fax: 361-786-3281
Police Department, Chief Vance Roberts, 361-786-2743
Mayor James Liska, 361-786-2528 X 225
City Administrator Rosie Forehand, 361-786-2528 X 226
News articles:
http://www.kens5.com/news/local/South-Texas-town-could-examine-ban-on-pit-bulls-131300284.html
http://www.mysoutex.com/view/full_story/15904667/article-Chief-wants-city-to-ban-pit-bulls?

***Amarillo, Texas***
The Amarillo Globe-News has been heavily focused on the dangers of
"pit bulls" after an alleged pit-mastiff mix killed a baby. In
addition to the typical heavy news coverage of this incident:
--Globe-News ran an online poll titled "Do you think the pit bull
breed should be banned?" http://amarillo.com/interact/poll/do-you-think-pit-bull-breed-should-be-banned
--And published a news article with the misleading headline "Animal
control: Pit bulls responsible for the most bites." The article's data
showed that mixed breeds were responsible for the most bites. Globe-
News treated "pit bull" as a single breed rather than a category,
apparently unaware that "pit bull" often describes a mixed-breed dog.
(Globe-News gave similar treatment to the dog involved in the fatal
bite incident, treating it as a "pit bull" rather than a mixed breed.)
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-10-04/animal-control-pit-bulls-responsible-most-bites
Though the push for BSL in Amarillo appears to be entirely media-
driven and probably will not go anywhere, it may be a good idea for
Amarillo locals to gently touch base with their city officials and
remind them that breed-specific laws are illegal, discriminatory,
ineffective, expensive, and unethical.

Thank you for your continued help in the fight against BSL in Texas!

J. Thomas
www.stopbsl.com
Texans Against BSL, http://groups.google.com/group/texans-against-bsl