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Fine to introduce Protecting Puppies from Sharia Act amid criticism over post

Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) is set to introduce a bill in support of dog ownership as he faces a wave of criticism over a social media post he made about choosing dogs over Muslims.

The brief bill, titled the Protecting Puppies from Sharia Act, would block federal funds from flowing to any state or local government that prohibits residents from owning dogs. It’s not clear if any such jurisdictions exist, though some areas do have breed restrictions.

A nonbinding “sense of Congress” section states that “Sharia law is a foreign concept that is against the pursuit of happiness” and that “it is a right of all Americans to own a dog.” Text of the bill was first shared with The Hill.

Fine is expected to introduce the bill on Friday, with cosponsors including conservative GOP Reps. Brandon Gill (Texas), Chip Roy (Texas), Mary Miller (Ill.), and Keith Self (Texas). 

It is Fine’s latest act of defiance as high-profile Democrats call on the Florida congressman to resign over his “Islamophobic” post, or to be formally censured by the House and removed from committee assignments.

“All the Democrats have criticized me, every single one of them, not a single one has said, ‘I promise I will never let anyone take your dogs away.’ You know why? Because they don’t want to offend those who do,” Fine said in a phone interview with The Hill on Thursday.

Fine’s social media post from Sunday read: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

He also posted a screenshot of a post from pro-Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani from last week in which she said: “Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.” 

Kiswani has since said the post was a joke as a reference to melting snow exposing dog waste, but Fine said he did not believe that. 

“There’s no reading of it that sounds satirical. There’s no, no reasonable person can say, ‘Ha ha, this is funny,’” Fine said. “In Islam, they don’t like dogs, and I’m not criticizing their religion for believing that — you know, some in my religion, we don’t eat pork. … So when a major Muslim leader says we’ve got to get rid of them, you should take them seriously.”

His post quickly went viral, drawing sharp criticism from Fine’s Democratic colleagues in the House and beyond.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in a statement on Tuesday called Fine “a disgrace to the United States Congress” and “an Islamaphobic, disgusting bigot,” calling on Republicans to “hold this so-called Member of Congress accountable.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) was one of many Democrats to call for Fine to be formally censured by the House and stripped of committees, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said that Fine should resign. 

Fine, however, dug in on his comments — responding to critics with modified Gadsden flags that depicted puppies instead of a snake while proclaiming, “Don’t tread on me.” 

Fine told The Hill he differentiated between what he calls “mainstream Islam” and “radical Islam,” and that his post did not mean he would ban Islam as a religion.

“If a group of people says, ‘Hey, we’ve just shown up in your country, and dogs violate our religion, so you have to stop having them.’ My answer to them is, ‘No, these are our pets. You can go home,’” Fine said. “Immigration means assimilation. Immigration doesn’t mean the people that were there have to change how they live to make you happy.”

And Fine teased: “Wait until you see who my guest is for the State of the Union.”

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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