AURORA, Colo. — Aurora is once again taking on the controversial issue of pit bulls in the city. Specifically, reversing the city’s current ban on the Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeds.
The city has gone back and forth for years.
In 2005, Aurora City Council banned the three breeds then in 2014, Aurora residents voted to keep the ban in place. In 2021, the city council decided to follow in Denver’s footsteps and remove breed restrictions within the city.
After that decision, Aurora resident Matthew Snider filed a lawsuit to challenge the city’s removal of the ban. Most recently, in March of 2024, Arapahoe County District Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz ruled in favor of Snider, deciding that because residents voted to keep the ban in 2014, only another vote could remove the ban.
Current Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky agrees with the judge’s decision.
“In 2021 right before I got on council,” said Jurinsky. “That previous council decided that they were just going to overturn the will of the voters and get rid of the pit bull ban on their own.”
Jurinsky describes herself as an animal lover, and she personally doesn’t think that there should be a breed restriction in Aurora, but she supports upholding the ban until the voters say otherwise.
“That is our democracy,” said Jurinsky. “When voters vote, that is their voice. And it's very sad that the previous council overturned this pit ban.”
Jurinsky is the sponsor of a resolution that is making its way to the ballot in November to remove the ban on those three specific dog breeds.
Bryon Taylor, Director of the National Dog Rescue Network, appreciates the issue being put on the ballot, but is concerned about its wording.
“It's a single sentence going to the ballot,” said Taylor. “In that single sentence, it says the word dangerous twice and aggressive once.”
Taylor is worried that the wording might lead people to voting no on the ballot. He believes that it would have a much better chance to pass if those two words are removed. However, the City of Aurora doesn’t have much choice.
“Unfortunately, our hands are kind of tied,” said Jurinsky. “The way that this pit bull ban was passed, we can only use that same language to undo that.”
The words “dangerous” and “aggressive” were used on the original measure back in 2014, which means that those words are required to be on the ballot in 2024. Still, Jurinsky hopes that voters will consider removing the ban, pointing to current laws that already protect against aggressive dogs in Aurora.
“What people need to understand is there are aggressive dog laws that cover all breeds in the city of Aurora, that would include pit bulls,” said Jurinsky. “I hope that the people of Aurora understand that there are serious laws in place regarding aggressive dogs. Because let's be honest, it's not just pit bulls that have attacked another animal or attacked a human being. It's all kinds of dog breeds, and we have strict laws in place regarding that.”
TIMELINE: AURORA PIT BULL BAN
- 2005: Aurora residents first voted to ban pit bulls from the city and it was enacted shortly after a young boy was mauled by three pit bulls.
- Nov. 2014: Aurora City Council put a ballot question before voters asking if they wanted to repeal the pit bull ban from the city. About 64% of residents voted to keep the ban, and as a result, the ban remained in effect.
- April 2016: A measure to repeal a ban on pit bulls, as well as other restricted dog breeds, was on the ballot sent to Aurora residents.
- Dec. 7, 2020: Aurora City Council conducted a study session, where it considered an ordinance that would repeal the pit bull ban.
- Jan. 11, 2021: Aurora City Council voted 7-3 to approve removing dog breed restrictions from the city ordinance, meaning residents could own American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier dogs within city limits starting Feb. 14, 2021. City council reviewed a document that characterized the Nov. 4, 2014 ballot issue as an “advisory, nonbinding ballot question.”
- May 2021: Matthew Snider, a resident of Aurora, filed a lawsuit to challenge the city’s 2021 appeal of the ban.
- February 2023: The Colorado Court of Appeals sided with Snider, sending the case back to district court, saying the ban removal was illegal and improperly repealed by city council.
- March 2024: Arapahoe County District Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz ruled in favor of Snider, and struck down Aurora City Council’s 2021 decision to repeal the ban. Volz said because residents voted to keep the ban in 2014, only they could reverse that position.
- April 2024: Aurora Council member Danielle Jurinsky sponsors current resolution to get vote on the November ballot.
- July 8, 2024: During an Aurora City Council meeting, councilmembers passed a resolution to put the pit bull ban on the November 2024 ballot.
- November 2024: Aurora voters will decide if residents can keep American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers.
