As promised, although a bit late, we are putting the Tedisco petition on the Cindy page for people to print out as they wish. Please try hard to get those signatures!!!!! In other information, those who know the Tedisco bill (and its twin Senate bill, S55971 may also be interested in knowing that there is another pair of bills in the Assembly and Senate. The numbers for these are A2268 and S3311. These bills are being sponsored by Assemblyman Pete Grannis and Senator Roy Goodman. The major difference between these bills and the Tedisco bill is that the Tedisco bill is calling for mandatory psychological testing and counseling for convicted offenders. I know that many of us would prefer to spend as little money as possible on these people but it is an established fact that people who harm animals very often go on to harm humans. (FBI Office of Behavioral Science study, among others—see the book "Mindhunters", written by one of the pioneers in the field for more information) A memo attached to the Grannis bill says: "Given the growing public recognition of the rights of animals to be treated in a humane fashion, this bill seeks that these cases are not handled as petty matters by increasing the most flagrant acts to a felony." If you feel that the psychological mandate contained in the Tedisco bill is an important one, it might be a good idea to write to Assemblyman Grannis or Senator Goodman and let them know that you believe that this is an important element in this bill. Either way, letters of support for any of these four bills would be a positive thing for the State of New York, and would hopefully show that we do care about our animals. To write to Grannis or Goodman: Mike Lenane Office of Assemblyman Pete Grannis Room 712, L.O.B. Albany, NY 12248 Senator Roy Goodman NYS Senate Albany, NY 12247 As always, letters to your own representatives will also have an impact on the passage of these bills.
To download a copy of the petition in MS Word© format, click here This is a zipped file.
To see a copy of the petition on line, that you can print out to sign, click here.