Honest mistake to make, it does look vaguely like a veterinary halter, though those aren't worn on the street.
I've never used a Gentle Leader because I'm worried about neck injuries -- my Labs are balls of fire compared to your average English Lab. But I'm also not worried about using prong or choke collars (or electronic collars for that matter) -- the folks who go for the Gentle Leaders tend to be really worried about humane treatment, don't ever use negative reinforcement and stick to things like clicker training.
Which is a really ironic thing about this situation -- these sweet people who were worried about using a "cruel" collar on a dog get SWATted by a bunch of damned idiots who proceed to be crueller to the dogs than they ever imagined anybody could be.
It’s just a darn shame.
I had no idea what the mayor and wife looked like when I read the news earlier.
Seeing the photo with the dogs makes it even more ludicrous...and heartbreaking.