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Tommy Brann, a freshman¹ state representative from Wyoming, a West Michigan town near Grand Rapids, isn't someone who puts on airs. He's passionate² about public service and proud to be part of the legislature, but still thinks of himself as "Tommy the Restaurant Guy."

In fact, he spent Mother's Day working at Brann's Steakhouse and Grill³, the restaurant he started when he was 19, not long after he graduated from East Grand Rapids High School. That was in 1971, and he's been at it since, building a business.

Three years ago he filed to run for a state senate seat, but pulled out almost immediately when he decided⁴ it was over his head. He told a reporter he couldn't even pronounce the name of one of the towns in the district.

But last fall, he decided he was ready for the state house, and won an open seat by a landslide⁵. He told me he wanted to get into politics because he didn't think many lawmakers in either party understood how difficult it was to run a small business.

Some of his ideas, including a college course on free enterprise that would use "Atlas⁶ Shrugged⁷" as a textbook, are a bit outside the mainstream⁸.

But he introduced a bill last week that may resonate with both conservatives and liberals. Brann wants much harsher penalties for those who are convicted of torturing or killing⁹ a pet, or companion animal.

If passed, his bills, HB 4332 and 4333, would mean you could get up to ten years in jail for killing someone's pet dog. Frankly¹⁰, as someone owned by a dog, my first reaction was that "this is great, but these penalties aren't nearly harsh enough."

That doesn't mean Brann likes punishing people. He is, as far as I can tell, sort of a quintessential nice guy, who is quietly giving away half his legislative¹¹ salary to help people in his district, and whose voice still catches when he talks about Howie, the Labrador Retriever mix he lost to old age a short time ago.

"He was a member of our family," he told me. I knew what he meant.

Brann wants this mainly to serve as a deterrent¹².

He told me that about twenty years ago, some young women came into his restaurant and sat in a booth. "And I heard one of them say, if you want to get revenge on somebody, kill their dog," he said. That shook Brann up. Later, he heard of a divorce case where an angry man slit¹³ the throat of his wife's horse, and ended up with a slap on the wrist and a small fine. "It's not right," he said.

Whether his bill gets any traction¹⁴ is hard to say. It's before the Law and Justice committee now, and he has both Republican and Democratic co-sponsors. He told me he's gotten support from the Humane¹⁵ Society and the Wayne County Prosecutor's office.

But he told me that some of his colleagues were having a hard time seeing just what was so special about a dog or a cat. Well, there are about fifty million Americans that could tell them.

As for me, next time I'm in the area, I think I'll go to Tommy Brann's for dinner.

1 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

6 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

7 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

13 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

14 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

15 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。