Michael Vick recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles after serving a prison sentence for dog fighting. The deadly gambling ring was organized to see who will be “the last dog standing.” The Vick incident fanned animal torture flames in the media just as Utah’s senate pushed for stricter laws against torturing domestic animals.
Pit bulls, the breed Vick used for dog fighting, have a bad rap and it didn’t improve during the weekend, when two pit bulls attacked a man in South Salt Lake. The man reacted to the approaching dogs by kicking at them. They responded by biting his arm and face. This is the fourth such attack in Utah this summer.
In March 2008, the Utah Senate passed Senate Bill 297, which makes animal torture a felony. They didn’t touch on what should happen when an animal tortures a person. Typically, police will either quarantine the dog or put it to sleep.
According to a 20-year study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pit bull attacks have accounted for nearly a third of the 238 fatal dog attacks in the United States. According to the study, pit bulls were the most deadly dog, with 32 percent of fatal attacks. South Jordan, for one, is apparently afraid of pit bulls, having banned their sale, residence or breeding within city limits.
Please keep in mind, your odds of being hit by a bus are better than being killed by a dog, all variables considered. In the United States, less than 5 million people are bitten every year, resulting in only 12 fatalities a year, according to federal statistics.
When Vick’s case hit, PETA and the Humane Society said the pit bulls, like all dogs saved from similar fight rings, were beyond rehabilitation and they should be put down. Ultimately, thanks to a letter-writing campaign, 47 of the dogs were saved and effectively rehabilitated; 10 were even relocated to Utah.
Veterinarian Frank McMillan, the director of Best Friends Animal Society in Southern Utah, said that of all dogs, pit bulls possess the single greatest ability to bond with people.
The bottom line is that dogs bite for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, fear, pain or just plain surprise. Any dog can bite, not just pit bulls. People should take care when they are around unfamiliar animals, even if they don’t do anything to provoke an attack. Should a “tame” dog start biting, it is the owner’s fault for not properly training the animal. Rather than condemning a breed, maybe the answer is to just spay and neuter bad pit bull owners.
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/opinion/pit-bulls-have-gained-an-inaccurate-reputation-1.1823301
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Respectful protests are more effective
On July 9, Matt Aune, 28, and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, were asked to leave the Main Street Plaza, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for “engaging in behavior deemed inappropriate for any couple on the Plaza.”
The LDS Church’s statement read: “They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol. They were politely told that the Plaza was not the place for such behavior and were asked to stop. When they became belligerent, the two individuals were asked to leave church property.”
According to Aune, both he and Jones had been drinking and per the police report, refused to adhere to multiple requests from church security when asked to stop their inappropriate behavior and leave. Even after Salt Lake City police officers arrived, they initially refused to supply their names and were cited for trespassing.
However, the next day, Aune and Jones told the media a different story. They said they had been “targeted” because they were gay, and the headlines read, “Gay couple detained after kiss near LDS temple.” That is a misrepresentation of the facts.
Unfortunately, because of festering grievances over Proposition 8 in California, time and time again the LDS Church has become a scapegoat for its unchangeable view on the traditional definition of marriage.
To the pro-gay movement’s credit, they downplayed the incident but have since demonstrated with several “kiss-in” protests near the Salt Lake Temple, a place LDS Church members hold sacred. The goal of such protests, one would assume, is to gain acceptance, tolerance and open minds from the LDS community.
There is no other organization that should be more open-minded than the LDS Church. Having experienced extreme persecution in its early days, from a governor’s extermination order applicable to all members, to the assassination of the LDS Church’s founder, the LDS Church has experienced a good deal of intolerance and rejection. However, the church has rightly refused to be goaded into a “Mormons versus gays” battle and simply restated its position more respectfully than holding a “kiss-in” equivalent.
A pamphlet titled God Loveth His Children, that was released recently by the LDS Church reads “some people with same-gender attraction have felt rejected because members of the church did not always show love. No member of the church should ever be intolerant.”
If gay-rights activists truly want to further their position in gaining more civil rights (a fair and reasonable appeal), the forum is not on the footsteps of a place considered sacred by any religion and unleashing lewd, drunken profanity. The correct forum is working through legislative channels where the issues are eventually presented to the voters for ratification.
In spite of this trendy era when it’s tolerated to label someone as a “homophobe” these unwarranted, generalized accusations against the LDS Church and its members are not right or fair. Tolerance does not require one to embrace another’s position or lifestyle, but both sides can be more understanding and accepting of those who hold a different opinion and refrain from public behavior designed to be offensive. Let’s all resist being carried away by the emotional tirades of those who scream the loudest.
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/openings/respectful-protests-are-more-effective-1.1816416
The LDS Church’s statement read: “They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol. They were politely told that the Plaza was not the place for such behavior and were asked to stop. When they became belligerent, the two individuals were asked to leave church property.”
According to Aune, both he and Jones had been drinking and per the police report, refused to adhere to multiple requests from church security when asked to stop their inappropriate behavior and leave. Even after Salt Lake City police officers arrived, they initially refused to supply their names and were cited for trespassing.
However, the next day, Aune and Jones told the media a different story. They said they had been “targeted” because they were gay, and the headlines read, “Gay couple detained after kiss near LDS temple.” That is a misrepresentation of the facts.
Unfortunately, because of festering grievances over Proposition 8 in California, time and time again the LDS Church has become a scapegoat for its unchangeable view on the traditional definition of marriage.
To the pro-gay movement’s credit, they downplayed the incident but have since demonstrated with several “kiss-in” protests near the Salt Lake Temple, a place LDS Church members hold sacred. The goal of such protests, one would assume, is to gain acceptance, tolerance and open minds from the LDS community.
There is no other organization that should be more open-minded than the LDS Church. Having experienced extreme persecution in its early days, from a governor’s extermination order applicable to all members, to the assassination of the LDS Church’s founder, the LDS Church has experienced a good deal of intolerance and rejection. However, the church has rightly refused to be goaded into a “Mormons versus gays” battle and simply restated its position more respectfully than holding a “kiss-in” equivalent.
A pamphlet titled God Loveth His Children, that was released recently by the LDS Church reads “some people with same-gender attraction have felt rejected because members of the church did not always show love. No member of the church should ever be intolerant.”
If gay-rights activists truly want to further their position in gaining more civil rights (a fair and reasonable appeal), the forum is not on the footsteps of a place considered sacred by any religion and unleashing lewd, drunken profanity. The correct forum is working through legislative channels where the issues are eventually presented to the voters for ratification.
In spite of this trendy era when it’s tolerated to label someone as a “homophobe” these unwarranted, generalized accusations against the LDS Church and its members are not right or fair. Tolerance does not require one to embrace another’s position or lifestyle, but both sides can be more understanding and accepting of those who hold a different opinion and refrain from public behavior designed to be offensive. Let’s all resist being carried away by the emotional tirades of those who scream the loudest.
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/openings/respectful-protests-are-more-effective-1.1816416
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