Tenney On Service Animal Bill Being Debated In Albany, Again

Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney joined WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning one week after the Valley Shooting Spree to share her thoughts on Governor Cuomo flying into the area during the standoff, and a bill that would make it a felony to kill a service animal.

''I live streamed the press conference and thought, 'oh boy here we go','' Tenney said.

The Republican assemblywoman said it reminded her of 'the old days when [former Utica Mayor Ed] Hanna used to film and he was on for hours on public access. If you remember what his face looked like, ya know when he answered the phone 'this is the mayor'? When Cuomo stood there at that press conference all I could think of was Hanna standing there awkwardly,'' she said.

Service Animal bill

The state legislature is considering a bill that make it a felony to kill or injure a service animal, be it a K9 or a horse, or whatever animal might be used by authorities.

This comes in the wake of the Valley Shooting Spree incident that resulted in four murders, then ended when suspect Kurt Myers shot a police K9 , Ape, then was killed when police returned fire.

The bill, increasing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a Class E felony, has passed the senate for a number of years , Tenney says, but has either been voted down or not made it to the floor for a vote in the Assembly.

On the impact of such a bill, Tenney said, ''Somebody may think twice before killing a police animal.''