It's like saying there's no difference between a pellet gun and an AK47...or between a Black Cat firecracker and a BLU-52.
Fact is, pits are dangerous animals and I support laws that outlaw them.
Every stinkin' one of 'em needs to be neutered/spayed.
Great dogs with a passion for murder.
And the type of person that prefers a pit bull is the reason there are so very many stories like this one.
Yes I profile.
So does your doctor.
The problem is once you start down this road "the powers that be" will start banning other breeds. German Shepards, Boxers, Dobermans, etc., will all come under the ax.
The only proper solution that I see is to slam these dog owners. Felonies for attacking people/pets. Right now a slap on the wrist and putting the attacking dog down doesn't do anything to prevent that Pit Bull owner from doing it again.
I think that's actually the main problem. Nearly all the pit bulls (and other breeds) involved in serious attacks are not neutered or spayed. The sort of people who are most likely to choose pit bulls are also the sort of people who won't spay/neuter their pets.
A young woman in the apartment building next door to me has a sweet pit bull that's always on a leash, and always friendly. I've even let it give me a "kiss" on several occasions. She got it as a rescue from a shelter, and is certainly not your typical pit bull owner. But I seriously think this is the only *neutered* male pit bull I've ever seen in NYC.
Mostly it's male dogs who do the serious attacks, but females with puppies can match the male's viciousness if they perceive a threat to their little ones. I think a breed ban is unnecessary, but requiring serious insurance policies for owning dogs over a certain weight would be wise -- it would end legal dog ownership by 99% of the people who own problem dogs, since they're practically all lowlifes with bad credit and criminal and/or drug histories, and would never be able to obtain such an insurance policy. And it would provide legal grounds to confiscate large dogs from irresponsible owners *before* someone gets hurt or killed.