Denver City Council puts off pit-bull vote

The Denver Post is reporting that the Denver City Council Yesterday, delayed until December 6 a vote on whether to create an exemption to the city's pit-bull ban that would allow the disabled to use the dogs as service animals.

For months now, the council has wrestled with the proposed exemption, which was recommended by the city attorney's office following a new regulation by the U.S. Justice Department.
That new regulation, issued in July, said disabled individuals have the right to pick any breed of dog to serve as a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Federal officials gave municipalities until March of 2011 to come into compliance with the new regulation.

Councilman Charlie Brown and Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz objected to the delay, saying they wanted to vote down the exemption on Monday.

"We don't need to go to a chiropractor to find our backbone," Brown said, arguing that he viewed the new federal regulation as an intrusion on the authority of local governments.