There was a poll with the article. A lot more people think people should be allowed to own pit bulls than not so far.
It's Philly what do you expect?
The Pit Bull activists most likely "Freeped it". They are quite organized as there is a lot of money at stake continuing the breeding these dogs.
They'll be along shortly to tell us this was uncharacteristic of the breed.
My personal opinion - this being a "free country" and all (snicker, snicker) is that people should be allowed to own pit bulls. But they should be held 100% accountable if (when) those dogs do damage.
If my child were hurt or killed by someone's dog (not just pits), not only do I plan on making sure the dog can never hurt anyone again, but the owner isn't going to be too fond of me either. The owner should be held on Assault charges, or murder charges if the attack results in death.
Any and all financial loss should come out of the owner's pocked, bank, or assets.
In fact, I wouldn't have a problem with a requirement to have liability insurance specifically for owning these "dangerous" breeds.
Pit bulls are nice dogs. For years and years, they were culled by putting down any dog that looked wrong at a human.
I had a half pit, half labrador. Absolutely the most stable dog I ever saw. It could dig out from under the fence in half an hour, and jump the fence in half a second. It never even growled at one of the kids, and boy they were tough on that dog. She didn't seem to mind having ears pulled, tail pulled, or my daughter riding it like a horse.
Slept on my bed. So the answer is, watch your dog, and train it right. Be sure you teach it that you are the "head of the pack" when it is little.
And try to be as good a man as your dog thinks you are.