MAYOR GIULIANI VETOED THE BILL TO LEGALIZE FERRETS
May 21, 2001
The Mayor held a public hearing on the legalization of ferrets in NYC.
There was a very good turnout of ferret supporters and about 10 people
spoke in favor of legalizing ferrets including the ASPCA and the Humane
Society. Regardless, the Mayor stated that he believed the real issue was
that, in his opinion, the Department of Health is within their rights to
ban ferrets if they choose to do so and he did not think it was appropriate
for the City Council to step in and attempt to override the Department of
Health's ban. The Mayor did not state whether or not he thought ferrets
were a threat to New York City. He simply said that, in his opinion, the
Department Of Health had the authority to ban ferrets and that, also, in
his opinion, the City Council did not have the right to interfere. That
is the reason he gave for vetoing (turning down) our bill today.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
This is where the "good news and bad news" of the May 9th vote comes in...
The City Council now has the *option* of holding a second vote within the
next 30 days to override the Mayor's veto. (See How A Bill Becomes A Law
in NYC) If they are successful and pass the bill at the override vote, it
will become a law in spite of the Mayor's veto. HOWEVER, it is an
*option*. It's not automatic. The City Council may choose not to hold
an override vote.
When our bill first went before the full City Council for a vote, we needed
a majority vote (26 votes) for our bill to pass. We got those 26 votes.
In order to override the Mayor's veto, the City Council would need two
thirds of the Council to vote in favor of our bill (34 votes).
Since we only had 26 votes the first time around, as things stand right
now, it looks like a second vote would be a waste of time. -We're not
saying it *is* a waste of time. We're saying that's how it "looks".
Because it looks that way right now, the City Council may not bother to
hold a second vote to try to override the Mayor's veto. So there are two
things we need to do... Persuade the City Council to hold a second vote
and attempt to override the Mayor's veto, AND if we are fortunate enough
to get that second chance, we NEED for at least 8 Council Members to change
their votes to "Yes".
HOW DO WE DO THAT?
1. WRITE TO PETER VALLONE:
Peter Vallone will be the one to decide whether or not our bill goes back
before the Council for a second vote. The vote to override the Mayor's
veto would have to take place within the next 30 days. Mr. Vallone has
been very supportive of our cause, but the Council is very busy and in
spite of his support of our bill, he may still decide that a second vote
would be a waste of time since we only had 26 votes the first time around.
EVERYONE should write Mr. Vallone a respectful letter. Thank him for his
support so far and ask him to give our bill a second chance. Ask him to
schedule our bill for another vote within the next 30 days and give us a
chance to override the Mayor's veto. If you are a member of Mr. Vallone's
district, be sure to mention that in your letter as well. (We may also try
to meet with Mr. Vallone in person, so if you're a member of his district,
please email [log in to unmask] and let us know as well.)
Peter F. Vallone
22-45 31st Street
Astoria NY 11105
(718) 274-4500
(212) 788-6865
2. HELP US MEET WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO DID NOT VOTE "YES" ON MAY 9TH.
We need to meet with some of the Council Members who did not vote "yes",
as soon as possible. The only people that are likely to be granted an
appointment with those Council Members are people who live in their
districts. If you live in the district of a Council Member who did not
vote "yes" on our bill at the May 9th vote, please email [log in to unmask]
immediately and let us know (if you haven't already done so). We will try
to set up an appointment between you, NYC Ferrets, that Council Member and
any other member of their district that gets in touch with us. We will not
be able to meet with these Council Members without your help. They are
extremely unlikely to schedule a meeting with anybody unless at least one
of the people at that meeting is an actual member of their district.
To find out who your Council Member is and how they voted at the May 9th
vote, follow the link under "Current news" on the main page of the NYC
Ferrets website ( http://members.aol.com/NYCFerrets )
3. KEEP THOSE "YES" VOTES
For everyone who's Council Member voted "Yes", we need those yes votes to
STAY "yes votes". It's really important that you write to your Council
Member (if you haven't already done so), thank them for voting yes at the
May 9th vote, and let them know that you hope they will continue to support
legalizing ferrets in NYC.
That's where we're at right now. Don't harass the Mayor. It won't change
anything and only makes ferret supporters look bad. This is out of the
Mayor's hands now. Write to Mr. Vallone, and check to see if your Council
Member voted "yes" at the last vote. If they didn't, contact NYC Ferrets
ASAP. We need to move very quickly on this.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SHOWED UP AT THE MAYOR'S HEARING
There were a LOT of people there! Not only that but there were lots of NEW
faces at the hearing. Thank you to everyone who attended. I'm sorry that
I didn't get a chance to speak with everybody in person. I tried to answer
as many questions as possible but there were a lot of people and I know
many of you had to leave. Please feel free to send an email to
[log in to unmask] with any questions you may still have.
Although it became evident that the Mayor had made up his mind before he
even arrived, it's still good that there was such a strong turnout. Your
being there did make a difference. It let the administration see that this
is truly an issue that affects a lot of people in New York. Had there been
a small turnout, the Mayor, the DOH and the press would probably have used
the apparent "lack of interest" to their advantage in the future. You may
not think that you're presence made a difference, but it did. It gave
those who are against legalizing ferrets one less argument to use against
us. Thank you to everyone for all of your efforts. Keep up the good work.
NYC Ferrets
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http://members.aol.com/NYCFerrets
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[Posted in FML issue 3426]
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