TS Radio: Voices Carry for Animals # 93: Chris Wilkinson: Cooper's Law

Hosted by Debbie Dahmer

Guest will be: Chris Wilkinson- Animal Rights Advocate & Child Advocate to help end hot car deaths of kids and animals

https://www.facebook.com/COOPERSLAW/?fref=ts

http://lclw001.wix.com/babycooperslaw

Baby Cooper's Law is an effort to achieve a Federal initiative to end the hot car deaths of children, dogs, the elderly, and other incapacitated persons .Named in honor of Baby Cooper Harris who died after being left in a hot vehicle where temperatures exceeded 140 degrees for more than 8 hours. Baby Cooper's Law (BCL) is designed to prevent the deaths of 37 children on national average and untold numbers of animals per year that die in hot cars, with 24 kids in 2015 and 2 already in 2016.  The 1st part of BCL will make it a Federal Felony charge to leave a child under the age of 8, a dog or animal, an elderly or incapacitated person in a vehicle unattended when outside temperatures exceed 70 degrees Farenheit or go below 35 degrees.

The 2nd aspect of BCL is to provide protection for civilian rescuers. Only in North Carolina, or Tennessee, and Georgia can a citizen legally break a car window to rescue a child or dog without fear of prosecution. Nor is there consideration for a rescuer being attacked for doing so. BCL would absolve any civilian rescuer from criminal or cival liability as well as it being an enhanced assault charge for attacking someone for rescuing a child or animal. Finally, under BCL federally mandated and tiered carseat alarms would become required equipment on all new cars by 2021 and all vehicles operating in the United States by 2022.