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Partly Cloudy Fighting for the dogs
Angry protesters swamp Village Hall; board suspends new ban on pit bulls, Rottweilers
!["Educate don't discriminate," said one sign held by the Marzocca family of Centereach at the Village Hall protest. Twelve-year-old Makayla Marzocca, far left, said, "I disagree with what they're doing because [pit bulls] are wonderful animals and it's the bad people who are training them to be bad that should be banned, not the animals.](https://gamma.creativecirclecdn.com/liherald/original/1278514637_0e0c.jpg)
Anger, outrage and a love of dogs brought more than 100 protesters from all over New York to Rockville Centre's Village Hall June 29. Armed with signs that read, "Ban the deed not the breed," they gathered at the monthly board meeting to demonstrate their opposition to Local Law 9, which bans pit bulls and Rottweilers in the village.
The Board of Trustees passed the law on June 8 in a 4-to-1 vote. Trustee Ed Oppenheimer was the only board member to vote against it.
After the public comment period at last week’s meeting, Bossart announced that the law would be suspended until further notice. The board agreed that a second public hearing on repealing the ban would be held at the next village meeting, on July 20.
The law allows people to keep Rottweilers and pit bulls they already have, but requires them to be registered and muzzled. The ban has drawn a great deal of scrutiny and criticism from people and organizations concerned about so-called "breed-specific legislation," which the protesters argue is illegal.
"The reason why we passed this law was to protect the safety of our residents, many of whom have felt threatened by animals of these breeds and who appealed to us to do something about them," said Mayor Mary Bossart, who, along with her colleagues on the board, sat expressionless during the meeting's public comment period. No one spoke in favor of the ban.
There was an overflow crowd in the small room where meetings are held, forcing half of the protesters to wait in hallways or outside the building. Bossart allowed about 45 minutes of public comment on the law. Members of organizations including City Pitties, the American Rottweiler Club and its Greater New York chapter, the ASPCA and Rescue Ink were among the many who voiced their opposition and explained why they believe the ban should be rescinded.
Joe Panz of Rescue Ink, a local organization whose members are known not only for their tattoos and motorcycles but for rescuing animals, argued that breed-specific legislation does not work. "No one or no thing should be picked out because of the way they look or because of the way they act or because of what they do — that they should be euthanized or destroyed," Panz said.
