Smith’s bill has passed the Senate, now going to House
Adrienne Smith of Jefferson champions two causes: domestic violence and animal welfare. A bill under consideration by the Iowa legislature this session addresses a point where those issues meet. If Senate File 2118/House File 286 becomes law, it will not only improve safety for victims of domestic violence and their pets, but it will also prove that an individual citizen can make a difference.
Smith is a charter member of PAWS, the People for Animal Welfare Society, and has served many stints on that board. She has also served as a board member of the Greene County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
She knows from the stories she’s heard that violence against pets and violence against people often go hand in hand.
“A person that abuses animals will abuse people, and vice versa,” she said. “If you abuse an animal you’re going to abuse a person, and so many times the abusive partner will threaten the family pet, and the person won’t leave, because she doesn’t want to leave the pet behind.”
Smith provides a statistic that 71 percent of domestic violence victims who go into protective shelters report that their abuser had injured, killed, or threatened the family pet. Also, 68 percent of abused women won’t leave an abusive situation because they worry about what will happen to the pets.
A protective order is an important tool in getting out of an abusive situation. SF 2118/HF 286 umbrellas the family pet under protective orders. Under the current Iowa Code, a person asking for a protective order can list a home, vehicle, or minor children as “out of bounds” for the abuser, but a pet is only listed as “other.”
The new language allows the court to grant to the petitioner the exclusive care, possession or care of any pets whose welfare may be affected by the controversy leading to the protective order. “The court may forbid the respondent from approaching, taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, molesting, attacking, striking, threatening, harming, or otherwise disposing of the pet or companion animal.” (HF 286).
Smith has been working toward the new law since reading an article 3-1/2 years ago that stated that 25 states, as well as Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico have similar laws. She approached Sen. Daryl Beall (D), who represented Greene County at the time. He asked Smith to provide a written rationale for the change she proposed. Her document provided statistics and arguments for changing the law. “Inclusion of pets in a protective order is a significant means to remove an obstacle that prevents women from seeking safety,” she wrote. She also named organizations like the ASPCA, the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Animal Rescue League and the Iowa State Bar Association who favor such legislation.
Beall took up Smith’s cause and first sponsored legislation in 2012. It got no traction. Beall sponsored it again in 2013, with the same result. Smith was persistent in her letter writing and personal contacts, and Beall was persistent, too.
Finally, during this legislative session, Senate File 2118 was unanimously approved.
Rep. Chip Baltimore (R), who represents Greene County, had previously told Smith that if it passed the Senate, he would work it through the House. On Monday, HF 286 passed through the House judiciary committee with only one dissenting vote. Smith expects it will go to the full House next week. With the bipartisan support it received in the Senate, she is hopeful it will also pass in the House. The final step would be a signature by Gov Branstad.
Smith said Beall and Baltimore have both been very good to work with. “Daryl has been really good. He’s been patient with this, and very helpful. So has Chip Baltimore, and Rep Bobby Kaufman, too.”
She said that a person who is passionate about something can suggest and promote legislation. “Anyone can do it. If you have an idea, get a hold of your representative,” she said.
She had input in the drafting and passage of the Safe Schools Act of 2007 and was present for that bill signing. She hopes to soon be on hand for another bill signing, this time for a bill making it easier for victims to change a bad situation without fear for the family pet.
