Moronic Legislating
I clipped an article from the noisepaper the other day intending to blog it and forgot to note from which day I snipped it but here is an article from the Christian Science Monitor on the subject of Denver's recent ban on pit bull dogs.
One of Kim du Toit's bete noir's is what he properly calls "Gun Fearing Wussies" (shorthanded to GFWs) who have, among other others, a salient characteristic of fear of "scary looking guns." Congratulations to the morons legislating in Denver who now get their designation "DFWs" - Dog Fearing Wussies who enact laws against "scary looking dogs." To quote from the AP article I clipped: "Pit bull typically describes three kinds of dogs - the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and the Staffordshire bull terrier. But Denver's ban applies to any dog that looks like a pit bull. The animal's behavior does not matter."
"Any dog that looks like a pit bull." A city councilman then went on to assert that pit bulls are both bred and trained to attack. I must resist the urge to characterize such a moro ... person's thinking (You mean like Dumbass! -Ed.) but breeding and training are two entirely different things. Breeding makes a dog capable of being dangerous but it's only with training that a dog becomes dangerous. There are several dogs that are bred to be capable of violence: Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans just to name a few. But only those trained for attack are actually dangerous. In point of fact, Rottweilers are incredibly sweet-natured dogs. If you've ever met one in friendly circumstances, you'll know what I mean. However, Rotties are the most fiercely protective dogs in creation. If a Rottie thinks you are presenting any threat to what he (or she) sees as his (or her) family, that dog will eagerly give its life to drive you off or kill you, whichever leaves the family safe.
It's not the dog. Dammit. It's the person who owns the dog that matters. It was Presa Canarios who killed a woman in a San Francisco apartment building. But it was the owners who knew how dangerous the dogs were and didn't control them who were at fault. The Presa Canario looks remarkably like a pit bull yet according to my reading of the reporting on the Denver ban, it's still OK to have one. Why? It's just as scary looking.
I hope the sensible citizens of Denver will boot these lawmakers out of office next time around so they can get some real public servants for a change. By the way, anyone care to venture a guess at what breed (apart from mongels) is one of the two responsible for the most bites on humans? Hint: It sure ain't scary looking.
Pugs of War suggests all dog owners in Denver who have lost a dog by the action of the city council immediately acquire pugs for themselves to ease the pain. And teach those pugs to pee on city councilmen.