I believe that any dog is trainable to be safe around (from watching "The Dog Whisperer"...that guy is good). But the trick is that you have to understand dog psychology/behavior, and most people do not.
The problem I have with the "pit bulls should all be exterminated immediately" argument is that it bares a chilling resemblance to Gun Grabbing. The idea that because something is potentially dangerous, then the government has a right to seize and destroy it from private citizenry and ownership.
I can agree with that. I also think that many cases such as this are as much the fault of the owner as the dog. Especially when an owner has two or three of them and doesn't secure them properly or leaves them alone with small kids. These type people shouldn't have any breed of dog.
It amazes me that nearly 100% of the people on this forum will in a heartbeat say:
"Not all arabs are terrorist, but almost all terrorist acts are performed by arabs...do the math"
Yet the same argument doesn't apply to pit bulls. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are SOME pit bulls, through luck or ALOT of training, that are managable around all people. I'm also sure that SOME dog attacks are from dogs other than pit bulls.
I don't know alot about dogs, breeding, which ones have good or bad dispositions, but I'll tell you one thing. Whenever I see a headline about a child being mauled by a dog, without reading any further, I feel comfortable betting my paycheck that it was a pit-bull. I happen to win this little bet with myself I'd say at least 90% of the time.
I have a friend whose dog was killed by a pit bull. Their dog was a dacshund(sp). He was watching the dog play in the front yard while he was out there with him. The dog was not on a leash, but was well trained and NEVER left their yard. The pit-bull jumped the fence, chased down the dog and killed it while my friend watched. He had to run inside for fear the dog would come after him next. Luckily, his THREE CHILDREN who OFTEN PLAY IN THE FRONT YARD were in school at the time.
I have a 20mo son. My wife is always with him when they play out in the front yard, but I know for a fact she could not fight a full-grown pit-bull off of herself, much less my son. Given that fact, plus the historical trend I described above, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there will never be a pit-bull living in our neighborhood. Read that however you like...
I agree w/your latter P, to an extent.
You must remember that dogs are INDEPENDENT LIVING CREATURES, w/minds and bodies they operate THEMSELVES. It's not a perfect analogy to firearms. No matter how excellent you are w/picking dogs and training them, you cannot control them 100%.
Which leads to the disagreement w/the 1st P. MOST dogs are basically good, or can be adjusted to the safe range, but a very few are NOT. They are just BAD. It's GENETICS, it's not ALL environment, despite the pablum from so-called dog-lovers who molly-coddle their dogs w/treats and silly "methods" which declare all dogs want to please (usually the same people who renege on their poor methods declaring "all dogs are good" by cringing at the thought of a "pit").
There are plenty dogs who will never, ever be trust-worthy and stable, and only some who would be if you had 5 years of virtually non-stop attention to pay them.