April 29, 2010 was a long and dramatic last day of the legislative session for Grace's Law, H.B. 788. In the morning of the last possible day, the House approved the amended bill, then immediately voted to reconsider it. This meant that the bill had to 'lay on the table' for two hours before anything further could be done. The clock was ticking, as the legislature would adjourn sine die at midnight. That's Latin for 'try again next year'. That afternoon, the House voted 115-36 to approve Grace's Law, with a committee substitute to the amendment that would have allowed gassing until January 1, 2013. The substitute would ban the use of the gas chamber in Georgia shelters effective December 31, 2010.
Just before 9:30 pm on April 29, 2010, the Senate approved the same version of Grace's Law, H.B. 788 by a vote of 37-8, a victory for the people and animals of Georgia, with only two and a half hours to spare.
The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Sonny Perdue. Governor Perdue now has 40 days in which to sign the bill into law. Alternatively, he could allow it to pass into law without his signature once the 40 days are up, or he could veto it. Governor Perdue is a 1971 graduate of UGA Vet School and is nearing the end of his eight years in office.
The grassroots voter effort spearheaded by the Georgia Voters for Animal Welfare, and the dedication of bill sponsor Representative Tom Knox have taken Grace's Law to the brink of passage. The people of Georgia have called their legislators by the thousands to urge the ban on this cruel and outmoded practice. Most legislators listened to their constituents. The revision to ban the gas chamber on December 31, 2010 rather than January 1, 2013 would spare thousands of animals tortuous deaths in the state's remaining gas chambers. Georgia has set an example for those working to ban the gas chamber in other states.
Many thanks are in order*, and much work remains to be done.
Grace's Law bans one particularly barbaric means of killing shelter pets, but does not ban the killing itself. It mandates a more 'humane' method of killing--'euthanasia by injection' or EBI. But, the killing of healthy and treatable animals is not euthanasia, which, by definition, can only be applied to animals which are irremediably suffering. It is killing. No Kill shelters routinely save 90% or more of the animals that come through their doors. They accomplish this by following the 11-point program known as the No Kill Equation, the only proven system for taking shelters from overkill to No Kill and keeping them that way.
The Humane Euthanasia Act was passed back in 1990, but due to the loopholes it left and to the lack of enforcement, Georgia still has several taxpayer-funded shelters which use the cruel and outmoded gas chamber to kill dogs and cats. Since then, several communities have stopped gassing shelter pets, generally following a public uproar, notably Liberty County after Amazing Grace survived gassing in 2006, and Macon. Twenty years is a long time in which to see the writing on the wall, yet a few have not (indeed, Cobb and Haralson Counties installed their chambers years after the Humane Euthanasia Act) and we need Grace's Law to put a final stop to the gassing of pets in Georgia.
Some see the ban as a crisis. How dare the taxpayers who fund these shelters demand that they stop this particular form of cruelty! Now we must do something else with all of these animals!
Some see crisis as a turning point, a dynamic situation involving danger and opportunity.
We have before us an opportunity to embrace lifesaving.
This day has been all about time and what transpires in that time--from the hellish half hour or more an animal struggles to survive in a gas chamber, to the race against the legislative clock, to the length of the delay between passage and effectiveness of a law, to the price of a moment's hesitation, and to the long hours in committee. Time means everything in matters of life and death, and delays mean more suffering and a greater body count. Time also marches on, and we are headed inexorably towards a No Kill nation. The gas chamber ban is a necessary step towards that.
Let's pick up the pace.
* Update: Vote lists are hotlinked to the vote scores in the article above. Legislators probably don't get 'thank yous' often enough when they do the right thing, so if your Representative or Senator was among the 'yes' voters on Grace's Law, thank them, and remember them on election day.
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Grace has opened doors in more ways than one.
Comments
Great article! Congratulations to Georgia animal advocates and the animals who will enter Georgia's kill shelters. I know you all worked hard to stop this barbaric practice.
Now, to stop the killing entirely. We can stop the killing in all of our shelters. Shelter leaders just need to start paying attention to the methods that have been proven to work. See the No Kill Advocacy Center's website. www.NoKillAdvocacyCenter.org
Hallelujah! We still have a long way to go, but here's a good step. Thanks for covering this issue, Valerie. And thanks for posting the video clip. It made me misty with joy that at least one beautiful angel escaped a wretched fate and helped others, too. Good girl, Grace!
Your article definitely states my desire. I am happy about the bill in GA. being considered to be law. I would think the gas would be more expensive and it certainly is less humane. Thank you for a good read and fun video too. Eugene,Oregon Dog Examiner
Just an fyi - Ga. has not banned gas chambers. Okay, they have but Ag, as usual, has found a way, they think, around the law's wording.
Nevertheless, the gas chambers - all except Spalding Co - are still in violation - and most are still being used - to gas "only wildlife", they claim.
If you would like to provide me with additional information about this, please feel free to email me (see my bio) or to contact me via my Facebook page (Atlanta Animal Welfare Examiner).
Read the actual bill that they passed - the "Science and Technology House Committee" made
revision after revision. All in all, the final draft was passed on the 7th version.
The 7th version has been dramatically "revised" from the original bill wording. So the shelters that
are still using gas chambers - are now claiming they are using them to gas "only wildlife". Cobb County
responded to my email to them - and admitted they are still using their chamber. The email said that they
were in full compliance with the new law and were only using it to gas "dangerous rabies vectoring wildlife".
Ag must have connections in the "Science and Technology House Committee" is all I can figure. There would be no way that anyone on that named committee, I don't think, would even have the sense to know
what words to change, add or remove. But they did.
So bottom line, the law does now say they aren't supposed to gas cats and dogs. If you choose to believe AC's like Cobb Co, be my guest. I do not.
Unfortunately, the law was revised from its original version, and does specify that it is against the gassing of dogs and cats. I would have liked to see all gas chambers destroyed so that they could never again be used. I don't trust anyone around loopholes either. If you have any type of evidence, please feel free to email it to th email in my bio or contact me through my Atlanta Animal Welfare Examiner Facebook page. i will be following up on this.
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