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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, introduced a bill Tuesday that would restrict the ability of a county, city or town to pass an ordinance that targets a specific breed of dog.
And municipalities where such ordinances exist would no longer be valid.
King said HB97 would keep people from unfairly stigmatizing breeds, noting that 10 municipalities have such ordinances in place.
"If they’re on the books, they have the potential for costing people money and stigmatizing a breed," he said.
"It’s people that don’t own pit bulls, for example, and have some misconceptions about them," King said. "There are no bad dog breeds, just bad dog deeds."
Dogs can be overly aggressive because they've lacked training or have poor owners, not because of their breed, he said.
"It’s the targeting the breed that’s the problem," King said.
— Madeleine Brown
