Vote on “Dog Bite” bill–Yea is the Responsibility Vote

Not all political feuds last forever. In a previous post, I mentioned how Del. Lou Simmons (D 17) had stated in the media that Sen. Brian Frosh had “reneged” on a deal and was “incompetent.” Frosh was also apparently feckless and disappointing.

Such a louse. But apparently, all is forgiven. In a recent Gazette article, Simmons now called Frosh “the indispensable man.” You can feel the kvelling all the way from Annapolis to Montgomery County.

No mystery why this happened. Frosh played a leading role in amending the Senate dog bite bill much closer to the much weaker version backed by Simmons. In his comments, Simmons went out of his way to say that the Senate did not cave to the House but he “doth protest too much, methinks.”

Because that’s what happened. Otherwise, why would Simmons have his Damascene conversion on Frosh? The version adopted by the Senate will enshrine the one-bite rule into law. This rule means that if a dog has not bitten before that the owner gets a pass on liability no matter the damage even if unprovoked.

I look forward to the State creating a dog bite database.

Kudos to Sen. Bobby Zirkin for fighting the good fight for a stricter interpretation that makes sense. At least his efforts now mean that owners with unleashed dogs that bite will now be held responsible. Above is the vote on the original Zirkin amendment to keep the stricter and more sensible interpretation.

Kudos also to Zirkin for at least making it so that unleashed dogs will be held responsible even without the first bite.

For the record, I don’t think dog owners who are walking a leashed dog should be held responsible if someone pets them without permission. But I don’t see why Simmons wants to allow one who lunges and maims someone to get a pass just because there is no evidence of a previous bite, whether or not one occurred.