State House Bill 1308 would have criminalized attempts to pass off a pet as a service animal for the disabled. (Anya Semenoff, The Denver Post)
Re: Legislation to outlaw phony service animals dies in Senate committee, April 12 news story.
As Colorado s protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities, we are concerned about your article on House Bill 1308. The story — and the bill — oversimplified the situation.
We agree that misbehaving animals in public are a problem, but it is clear that people do not understand the law on service animals. A service animal can only be a dog (or a miniature horse); a business owner can exclude any animal if it is aggressive or causing a nuisance; different rules apply to housing and flying; and there is another class of animal — assistance animals — that can legitimately help people with their disabilities, yet still not be service animals.
Despite this misunderstanding, HB 1308 sought to criminalize people — putting their housing and jobs at risk — if they misunderstood the law. We urged amendments requiring notice — like signs for accessible parking — but our efforts were rebuffed. Thus, we and many others opposed the bill; yet your reports failed to mention the significant opposition.
Don t oversimplify; just because there is a problem, criminalization without notice and education is not the right answer.
Alison Butler Daniels, Denver
The writer is director of legal services for Disability Law Colorado. This letter was published in the April 20 edition.