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-- Nietzche |
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Today we sign into law ESSB
5942, which makes it a crime to interfere with or
injure a guide dog or service animal assisting a
person who is blind. One of the roles of state
government is to provide protection for
Washington's most vulnerable citizens. Currently,
our state has laws that prohibit interference with
blind people's use of public facilities or injuring
or killing a guide dog or service animal, but we
have no clear prohibition against interfering with
such a service animal. I would like to introduce Hy
Cohen and his guide dog "Layla", for whom this law
is named. For almost a year Layla and he were
prevented from leaving their Mountlake Terrace home
because of an aggressive dog that was allowed to
run loose in their neighborhood. This dog would
intimidate them as they ventured from their home,
at times even stopping Hy and Layla in the middle
of the street. As a result of this, Layla
began to fear all other dogs and Hy and she were
unable to go about their normal daily lives.
Imagine if one you heard that a neighbor of yours
was prevented from walking to the market for food
or traveling outside their home for a doctor's
visit. That is what many of our
citizens who rely on guide dogs face every
day. In fact, according to a
recent study conducted by "Guide Dogs for the
Blind", 31 percent of people who rely on guide dogs
report incidents of intimidation and harassment by
loose dogs. No person should ever be prevented from
the basic right of walking in their own
neigborhood. Thanks to the hard work of Hy, his
father Shelly, Barry Sheridan of the Assistance
Guide Club, senators Rosemary McAuliffe and Jeri
Costa and Representative Phyllis Kenney, we now
have "Layla's Law". This bill makes it illegal
for a person or their dog to interfere or injure
another guide dog or service animal. These service
animals are not just pets. They serve as many of
our citizens' lifelines to their surrounding
communities. By performing miracles everyday these
service animals and their owners deserve the
protection of the law that is guaranteed to all of
our citizens: The basic right to move about your
own neighborhood. It is because of them and the
example of Hy and Layla that I am honored to sign
this bill into law today. |
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