A North Carolina lawmaker says he was caught off guard by the angry responses he got to a bill that would require the owners of pit bulls, mastiffs and Rottweilers and other large breeds to undergo criminal background checks.

Rep. Rodney Moore, a Charlotte Democrat who sponsored the bill, tells Law Blog that his office got thousands of emails from people protesting the plan. Many of them were from pit bull owners who attached photos of their dogs looking cute and "passive," he said.

The legislation died in committee. "I've been inundated," said Mr. Moore. "It's a good idea, but maybe the language was kind of harsh." He said he would get stakeholders together to talk about animal-safety issues.

"This is not a state where you can mess with people's dogs," one legislative aide told Law Blog.

The background check bill would have applied to owners of breeds designated as "aggressive." And the owners would have had to take at least four hours of training courses. They also would have had to pay to apply for a special "aggressive dog" permit from the state's insurance department.