WARREN, Ohio - Ace is a young pit bull who recently showed up at the Trumbull County Dog Kennel. Not so long ago, he would've been euthanized just because of his breed.
"He's a sweetie," said rescue volunteer Marty Conklin as Ace licked her hand.
House Bill 14 would remove pit bulls from the Ohio list of vicious dogs. A campaign for the bill on Change.org has collected more than 12,000 signatures in favor of the measure.
"Ohio is, I believe, the only state who still has a breed profile in its vicious dog statement," Conklin said. "And that is embarrassing."
Conklin said the breed is unfairly targeted.
"When they're only looking at a certain breed, then they're turning a blind eye possibly to the other dangers that are out there," Conklin said.
Several local communities like Youngstown, Canfield and Girard currently ban pit bulls. Girard's ban has been on the books since 1987.
"There is a history of this breed being a problem," said Girard Mayor James Melfi. "We have a responsibility to keep our citizens safe."
But cities like Cleveland are moving away from the breed-specific ban. The city removed pit bulls from the vicious dog list because mixed breeds made pit bulls hard to identify.
A lawsuit in Denver challenged the city's pit bull ban as a violation to the Americans with Disabilities Act, claiming it banned pit bulls that were service dogs.
Some in animal enforcement say the new law could cut down on all the calls they receive about pit bull sightings, and instead help them focus on any vicious dog.
"The good people who own these dogs that take care of them that do the things they need to do will not have to go through all this and have the possibility of going to jail," said Dave Nelson with the Mahoning County Dog Warden's Office.
The State House passed H.B. 14, and it has now moved to the Senate.
