FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft Capitol: (405) 557-7343 Moore: (405) 794-9464  After AG's Ruling, State Lawmaker Renews Call for Statewide Pit Bull Ban  OKLAHOMA CITY (August 16, 2005) - Oklahoma needs to implement tough statewide restrictions on pit bull dogs, now that the state attorney general has ruled that individual municipalities cannot enact breed-specific ordinances, a state lawmaker said today.  Following a number of pit bull attacks in recent months, state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft had asked Attorney General Drew Edmondson for a ruling on whether chartered municipalities could enact and enforce breed-specific bans. But Edmondson said they could not, so Wesselhoft says he will work even harder to pass statewide safety measures.  "This just means it is now even more critical for the Legislature, next session, to make our children's safety a top priority and pass statewide restrictions on the pit bull," said Wesselhoft, R-Moore, who has been actively pursuing strict regulations on pit bulls and their owners since a three-year-old boy from Moore lost his arm to a pit bull terrier in June.  "We appreciate Attorney General Edmondson and his staff for taking the time to look at this important issue," Wesselhoft added. "But his ruling today makes it crystal clear that it is up to the people of Oklahoma to let their legislators know that they need sufficient restrictions passed against this dangerous animal."  Current Oklahoma law states that municipalities cannot enact breed-specific bans on dogs. But Wesselhoft and others contended that the law did not apply to municipalities that were created under municipal charters.  Wesselhoft said today's ruling is unfortunate, but it will not deter him in his efforts. When the state Legislature meets again in February, he plans to carry a bill that would regulate pit bulls on a statewide level.  "Even if we had received a favorable ruling from the attorney general today, we would still need to pass statewide safety measures," Wesselhoft said. "This just makes a statewide law that much more essential."  He said legislation is warranted because pit bulls are dangerous and unpredictable animals that, once provoked or internally set off, become uncontrollable and lethal weapons that pose significant danger to unsuspecting and innocent people.  In addition, he said several major cities around the U.S. have banned pit bulls, including Denver, Detroit, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Grand Rapids, Mich. And he noted that 17 states have non-breed-specific laws but allow local governments to pass breed-specific legislation.  Wesselhoft is proposing that Oklahoma enact a host of restrictions on pit bull dogs and their owners. These would include the spaying or neutering of all pit bulls; specific fencing requirements for containing pit bulls; and forbidding anyone living in Oklahoma from buying a pit bull from out of state.  "The eventual goal is to, in effect, ban the deadly pit bull in Oklahoma," Wesselhoft said. "Anyone who currently owns pit bulls would be allowed to keep them, but they would have to be spayed or neutered, so that they can't create more pit bulls."  -30-