House Passes Favorable Pit Bull Bill

The House of Delegates unanimously approved a bill Thursday that would override a Maryland Court of Appeals' decision last spring that declared pit bulls "inherently dangerous."

Maryland's top court found that pit bull owners and landlords were strictly liability for pit bull bites — even if there was not evidence that the dog had bitten previously, which was the old standard.

Baltimore magazine wrote about the pit bull controvery this month, including the case that compelled the Maryland Court of Appeals' decision and subsquent uproar from pit bull advocates from across the state.

House Bill 78 passed by a vote of 133-0 following a third reading today.

The companion bill, Senate Bill 160, had its first reading Feb. 5