Rockets owner backs registry for animal felons -

[TBF]

Les Alexander is the owner of the Houston Rockets professional basketball team, and he is backing a new registry in Texas to register animal abusers -

Plan would treat animal abusers like sex offenders
Rockets owner Alexander backs registry for felons
By PEGGY FIKAC
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 1, 2011, 7:53AM

AUSTIN — People convicted of felony animal cruelty offenses would have to register just like sex offenders do under a proposal being pushed by Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander.

Alexander is one of the advocates hoping lawmakers take time to focus on animal welfare in the upcoming legislative session.

"A predator is a predator, if it's against a human or it's against an animal," said Alexander, who in 2007 put muscle behind toughening Texas' animal-cruelty law.

The registry proposal hasn't yet been filed. Four Houston lawmakers plan to carry it forward: Democratic Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Republican Rep. Beverly Woolley.

Among other pet-related proposals is a revival of the so-called puppy mill bill, which would create a state regulatory program to license and set minimum standards for commercial breeders. The measure's still being drafted...

..."I want to make sure the puppies that are being sold are healthy animals, that they are being treated in a humane way," Thompson said.

A separate bill that has already been filed would allow pets to be added to protective orders in family violence cases.
Tally is not complete

Some of the measures have been tried before, but the registry effort is new. Lobbyist Bill Miller, pushing the idea for Alexander, said no other state has passed it. A registry has been approved in New York State's Suffolk County.

The idea would work like the Texas registry that makes information public about sex offenders, though it might be tiny in comparison.

Texas has 62,971 registered sex offenders. Since the animal cruelty law was toughened in 2007, just 24 people have been sent to the Texas Department of Criminal justice for cruelty to non-livestock animals.

But that tally is incomplete. It doesn't include those simultaneously serving time for an animal-cruelty felony and another crime with a longer sentence. It also doesn't include those who receive deferred adjudication, who also would be required to register. Those figures couldn't be obtained Thursday.

"A list has to start somewhere, with someone," Miller said. "It will be a deterrent and a valuable tool" for checking on potential pet owners.

Backers cited a connection between animal abuse and violence toward people...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/7361450.html


He is not the only humanitarian on the team - Yao Ming is known for his efforts in trying to save sharks in China (a country that considers shark meat a delicacy).
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2010/01/19/yao-ming-is-saving-sharks-with-100-billboards-in-china/



Go Rockets!

[xchrom]

1. excellent. nt

[whistler162]

2. Too much New Years champange I guess....

sleep it off!

[TBF]

3. Are you referring to Mr. Alexander, Mr. Yao, or did you even bother to read the entire article? nt

[LiberalFighter]

4. I would take careful steps in how it would be used.

It shouldn't be made totally public. But, it should be accessible to law enforcement, ASPCA, animal shelters, and possibly rescues.

The problem that it doesn't solve is when they obtain the animals from out of state or on the street. BUT, if the penalties are severe enough for having unauthorized animals it will still cut down. And it would also require that if the offender lives in a household the other members of the household cannot have possession of an animal.

[TBF]

7. Why shouldn't it be made public? Just curious as to why you feel that way -

there are tons of animal rescues out there placing animals (both breed specific and the ASPCA type places) - it would absolutely have to be made available to them or what's the point?

[MattBaggins]

25. Read The Scarlet Letter

nuf said

[TBF]

31. I can see your point on the public aspect -

and varying degrees of abuse as well. I do think it would be a great tool for law enforcement and the rescue groups.

[NNN0LHI]

5. I will be the first to say that the recent coverage given to Vick was way overblown ...

... but every kid I knew when growing up who abused animals was a sick fucker.

I will leave it at that.

Don

[TBF]

6. I think that's a very fair comment Don. nt

[Sirveri]

8. How does animal cruelty endanger the community?

Because that's generally the rationale given for the sex offender lists.

Maybe we should simply force all criminals to wear a letter on their shirt to advertise to the public the crimes they have committed.

[blondeatlast]

14. google the relationship between animal abuse in children and adolescents and

the prevalence of violent adult offenders. Oh, okay, Happy New Year--a gift for you:

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/March_2010/domestic_violence.htm

Research suggests that animal abuse is closely linked to other criminal violence. For example, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people, four times more likely to commit property crimes, and three times more likely to have a record for drug or disorderly conduct offenses (Arluke, Levin, and Ascione, 1999). Approximately 70 percent of domestic violence abusers have records of other crimes and 60 percent had a household pet (Breaking the Silence of Violence II).

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have recognized the high incidence of repeated animal abuse in the early history of many of the most violent offenders including serial killers, serial rapists, and sexual homicide perpetuators. As former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Alan C. Brantley explains, “It has long been accepted among professionals who must assess dangerous populations that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Violence against animals is violence, and when it is present, it is synonymous with a history of violence” (Brantley, 1998).

More, with extensive references, at link.

[Starry Messenger]

40. Thank you.

I thought that was fairly widely known, but the responses to this thread are really eye-opening. Animal abuse isn't like farting or some kind of social faux pas. :wtf:

[Starry Messenger]

9. k&r

Interesting idea.

[KansasVoter]

10. How fucking stupid is this??

So animal abusers need to be listed on a website so I know if they live close to me?? WHY???

This is one stupid idea.

So a burglar who has broke in to 100 houses is not on a website but a guy who abused his dog is?

Wow, people are dumb.

[TBF]

13. I think the idea is that it would be used by rescue groups so animals

wouldn't be put in abusive households. You have a problem with that?

[MattBaggins]

28. Yes

[rucky]

30. Already public record. n/t

[TBF]

35. Then why the opposition to a registry? nt

[MattBaggins]

39. Because the registry is already there

Law enforcement has access to the information. No one else needs to know their neighbors business.

[rucky]

41. Why the creation of a registry?

What's the purpose, other than to shine a spotlight on them that says "don't trust this guy". Maybe he's not asking for trust, maybe he's just trying to live a normal life. This gets in the way.

But if he wants to adopt a pet, apply for a job, apply for a loan, then a background check can be performed and then the knowledge is used in relation to a specific action or privilege that the ex-convict initiated himself.

[TBF]

43. Rescue groups would benefit from a registry - it is very costly to do

criminal background checks. Agreed though that it wouldn't have to be public - I can see the privacy issues there.

[MattBaggins]

27. I would usually never suggest such a thing

but anyone that supports this should have their right to vote revoked.

[TBF]

32. I'm not sure why you'd direct that at me - I have no problem with Michael

Vick voting or playing football. I simply don't want him near animals given the extreme abuse.

[rucky]

11. What felony isn't predatory?

besides personal-use drug offenses.

How do we decide which crimes should have a registry or not?

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

17. TONS of felonies aren't preatory.

I would wager that there are more non-predatory felonies than predatory felonies. There are an estimated 10,000+ federal crimes (felonies) on the law books. They can't even count all of them. For example, owning or posessing a short lobster is a felony in the US. Trust me, you're a felon (everybody is)... you just know it.

I think publicly disclosed non-probationary registries, in general, are pretty stupid.
Either a person is rehabilitated or not... and if not, why release them into the public?
The failure of the criminal rehabilitation institution is the true problem and registries are only a band-aid.

[rucky]

29. I should have the right to know if my neighbor is a lobster smuggler.

There's no rehabilitation for that crime that doesn't involve butter.

[sarcasmo]

12. Then they better have a murderer registry and an embezzler registry

an arsonists registry, a drunk driver registry etc. etc.

[blondeatlast]

16. Try reading the entire post before responding.

It's good for your DU cred.

[blondeatlast]

15. Really, DU, it doesn't hurt to read the entire post *you don't even have to read the whole article)

before responding.

It's for animal welfare agencies and law enforcement--not the general public.

[Sirveri]

18. That's not what the article says, it says it will be public like the sex offender reg.

"The idea would work like the Texas registry that makes information public about sex offenders, though it might be tiny in comparison."

Perhaps that's a bad cut and paste, but it's irrelevant. The majority of people opposed to these stupid lists are opposed on the grounds that it's basically a scarlet letter. If you won't permit people who have committed a crime to reintegrate into society (which is what these lists are designed to do) then there isn't any point in releasing them, might as well simply kill them or toss them into a hole for the rest of their days.

[Catherina]

19. Yes. Please do. Rec'd. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

20. What is it with sports figures and superficial humanitarian causes?

"Save the puppies!" "Save the chinese sharks!"

How about ending poverty? Guys? Hello?

So long as their livelihood depends on people willing to spend $10,000 for season tickets, that's a topic they won't tackle.

http://www.nba.com/lakers/tickets/arena.html#Season

[TBF]

34. I wouldn't call animal issues superficial, but Marx would probably agree with you.

So at least you're in good company. I simply disagree with Marx on this, I find it very important.

[madinmaryland]

21. What ever happened to serving your time and then being reintegrated into

society. Let's just make it impossible for them to rejoin society after serving their time.

Un-reccing for a horrible idea that just helps to support the Prison Industrial Complex.

[TBF]

26. Do you support the registering for sex offenders or are you against

registries in general? Just interested in whether people are really thinking this through, of if they are still in reactionary mode given the Michael Vick saga.

[madinmaryland]

36. I would say that I am opposed to registries in general.

That being said, I do realize there are some crimes (pedophilia) that regardless of the punishment will not be cured.

All the registry does now is stigmatize people who have taken a leak in the woods and 18 year olds who had sex with a 16 or 17 year old.

[TBF]

44. At least you are consistent - I can respect that. nt

[Iggo]

22. Yay! More punishment!

Life sentences for everything, I says!

[MrScorpio]

23. I'm sure that a lot of the abuse in a place like Texas is due to negligence

What's to be done about the abandoned horses, swine and cattle due to the downturn in the economy?

[TBF]

47. I grew up in a rural area (not Texas, but quite similar) and I completely agree that there is

a lot of neglect that is due to culture/education. In the past few weeks, reading over all these responses in the threads, and arguing with my husband (!), I have changed my mind slightly on some of these issues. While I don't like the idea of Michael Vick having proximity to children or pets, I do see the need for rehabilitation/education. I like that Vick is gainfully employed, and maybe there is even hope for him having another dog if the Humane Society works to educate him on how to care for it.

I also see the need for mass education on other issues - some folks hate hunting for instance, but eat meat (often grown on factory farms which are often much more abusive to animals than hunting), wear leather and fur products, etc... There is much to talk about here.

[MattBaggins]

24. How stupid can we as a nation get.

How about a registry for farting in public places.

[TBF]

33. A registry for stupidity isn't a bad idea -

I have a few nominations after reading the responses to my OP.

[flvegan]

37. He and his wife Nanci are huge animal rights advocates.

She's made a really big name for herself here in Florida.

I personally love this idea.

[ohheckyeah]

38. And then we can have a

registry for people with DUI's and make adulterers wear read A's on their chest. And maybe shoplifters can have a hand cut off while we're at it.

What website is this again?

[TBF]

45. I think this is the website where we praise Obama no matter what fool thing he says. nt

[Better Believe It]

42. Should their foreheads also be tattooed like Jewish people were in Nazi Germany?

[TBF]

46. That's a far cry from a registry that law enforcement and animal rescue groups

could use to prevent animals from being placed with abusive owners.