The GOP introduces “common decency” legislation — for dogs on planes

The GOP is getting serious … about not putting dogs in overhead bins on planes.

Sen. John N. Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, plans to file a bill Thursday to address the death of a French bulldog puppy who was kept in an overhead bin from Houston to New York City. It even has a name: the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act, or WOOFF, naturally.

Inbox: @SenJohnKennedy has filed legislation called the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act (WOOFF) to prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins. Background: https://t.co/YwyRPgNQSo #lalege #lasen

— Elizabeth Crisp ⚜️ (@elizabethcrisp) March 15, 2018

I will be filing a bill tomorrow that will prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins. Violators will face significant fines. Pets are family.

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 14, 2018

The response to Kennedy’s “common decency” legislation probably isn’t what he expected. Critics are calling the bill an obvious example of political posturing, and many called attention to the GOP’s pro-gun policies.

Read: A puppy died on a United flight after a flight attended insisted it be kept in an overhead bin

How about sneaking in an assault weapons ban in that bill too?

— Miss G (@GCasale) March 14, 2018

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This is a mildly humorous take, given your outright refusal to legislate so many other forms of common decency.

— NOLA JT (@NOLA_JT) March 15, 2018

The controversy first started making the rounds on social media when passengers aboard the flight detailed the event on Facebook and Twitter. Apparently, a flight attendant insisted the puppy be kept in the overhead bin.

“There was no sound as we landed and opened his kennel,” June Lara, who said she was a passenger on the flight, wrote on Facebook. “There was no movement as his family called his name. I held her baby as the mother attempted to resuscitate their 10 month old puppy. I cried with them three minutes later as she sobbed over his lifeless body. My heart broke with theirs as I realized he was gone.”

Thank you @united for ruining such an innocent life, and for traumatizing a little 8 year old girl who loves and now misses her dog Papacito. pic.twitter.com/vL3mr5LYvt

— Jacob E. Lara (@jxlara_) March 13, 2018

A Texas district attorney launched a criminal investigation into the dog’s death.

Somehow, this isn’t even United’s only dog scandal of the week. The airline also accidentally flew a German Shepherd that was headed to Kansas to Japan instead.

Read: United accidentally flew a dog to Japan but at least it’s still alive

Cover image: Photo by Jeff Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images