State Senator Dan Laughlin of Erie County is pushing new legislation aimed at strengthening protections for animals and holding abusers accountable.<\/p>\n
Laughlin has formally introduced what is being called \u201cAimee\u2019s Law,\u201d a bill that would create a public registry for individuals convicted of aggravated animal cruelty offenses. The goal, he says, is to deter abuse and bring greater awareness to the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the threat of having your name on there is going to get people to behave better and bring some light to this situation,\u201d Laughlin said.<\/p>\n
The proposed legislation is named after a Siberian Husky that died after being severely neglected and left outside during the winter. The dog, as well as the bill, is also named in honor of Aimee Fries, the Erie police dispatcher who took the call reporting the animal\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n
Fries recalled the moment as one of the most difficult of her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the most heartbreaking call that I think I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She later described the emotional toll of seeing the dog firsthand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing pup Aimee will always be in my mind, and the hardest day of my life,\u201d Fries said. \u201cTo see how she looked, and I remember laying with her, praying over her, saying she\u2019s loved and not alone anymore. Because no dog, no animal should ever be treated or feel that kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the proposed bill, first-time offenders would be listed on the registry for two years. Repeat offenders would remain on the list for a longer period, and those convicted in the most severe cases could face a lifetime ban on owning animals.<\/p>\n
Laughlin believes the registry would act as both a deterrent and a way to encourage better behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we create this public registry, I genuinely believe people who are maybe kind of borderline-ish aren\u2019t going to want to see their name on there,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it will help create better behavior in the people themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters argue the registry is long overdue and would provide an added layer of accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about time that there is a registry to hold these people accountable,\u201d Fries said. \u201cBecause it should never be done once, nor should there be an opportunity for it to be done again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bill must now move through the legislative process in Harrisburg. Senator Laughlin says he hopes to see \u201cAimee\u2019s Law\u201d passed and in place by the end of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State Senator Dan Laughlin of Erie County is pushing new legislation aimed at strengthening protections for animals and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[47838,136,138,137],"class_list":["post-186648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-aimee","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}