JEFFERSON CITY - The battle for dog equality has reached the Missouri Senate, where a bill aimed at outlawing breed-specific ordinances was heard before the Senate General Laws committee.  

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, would prohibit a local government from enacting any law that limits the ownership of a dog based on its breed.

"I've gotten...a lot of information from people that just really believe that it would be wrong to single out any particular breed or any particular type of dog to have rules about that dog that wouldn't be the same as any others," said Nieves during the hearing on Tuesday, March 11.

Among all other dog breeds, pit bulls were the breed most commonly referred to during the hearing. Opponents of the bill claim that breed-specific ordinances regarding pit bulls is beneficial for community welfare.

"Strict regulation of the pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rate related to dog bites," said Alan Jones of St. Louis, testifying in opposition to the bill.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, dogs bite over 4 million people resulting in the hospitalization of 6,000 to 13,000 people each year in the United States.

Proponents of the bill claim that local breed-specific ordinances infringe upon a home owner's property rights, by limiting what dogs they are allowed to own.

"When we label dogs as 'dangerous' simply based on their breed makeup and appearance, we deflect where the attention needs to be, which is addressing dangerous dogs, regardless of the breed," said Courtney Thomas, president of the Great Plains SPCA.

According to DogsBite.org, 64 municipalities have enacted laws banning or limiting the ownership of pit bulls within their cities.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.