Muzzling pit bulls, or politicians

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Main Muzzling pit bulls, or politicians?

Today, inspired by recent events in Baltimore County, I would like to propose some legislation. Whereas, politicians have repeatedly screwed things up, and aforementioned mistakes often have long-lasting negative effects on the rest of our lives, and;

Whereas, politicians have again and again been caught up in illegal, corrupt and illicit activities and affairs that reflect poorly on the rest of our species, and;

Whereas, while all humans are capable of inflicting harm, politicians are stronger and have more of a bite, leading to the infliction of greater damage;

Therefore, be it resolved that the following bit of "occupation- specific" legislation is hereby enacted, requiring (A) politicians to be kept in a wire mesh enclosure at all times, and;
(B) When not occupying said wire mesh enclosures, all politicians shall be muzzled while amongst the public to prevent the spread of lies, deception and empty promises, and;
(C) When inside their homes and/or offices, those premises must be clearly marked with signs that say "Beware of Politician," or "Vicious Politician Inside" and ...

OK, maybe that's going too far, but that's exactly what two Baltimore County Council members have done by proposing a bill that would require pit bulls -- for starters, anyway -- be muzzled in public and kept locked up in private.

The bill, which also calls for extra licensing fees, mandatory insurance and inspection of homes with pit bulls, is scheduled for a vote next month.

Not only is that cruelty to animals, it's racist.

Or at least breedist. Because a dog is, or contains amounts of, what we generally refer to as pit bull is no reason to single it out to a caged and muzzled life.

As anyone who has seen my movie (plug coming up), "Hey, Mister, What Kind of Dog is That?" knows, the percentage of various breeds that might be in a dog is mostly meaningless.

Both the city and county have seen some tragic incidents this year involving what have been described as pit bulls. But breed-specific legislation in neither a reasonable nor humane response to it. The answer is tracking down and arresting the Michael Vicks of the world is -- those that would instill and encourage vicious behavior in dogs for their own sick enjoyment.

Those are my thoughts, anyway. Yours' are welcome. Comment by clicking the button immediately below this entry. If we get a good sampling, we may even pass them on to Baltimore County.
Posted by John Woestendiek on September 28, 2007