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 _____________________________ http://members.aol.com/NYCFerrets _____________________________ [Posted in FML issue 3426]