Dangerous reversal must be stopped, Cohn, Oct. 12

Martin Regg Cohn wrote a comprehensive article on banning pit bulls. I disagree with him in only one respect.

The problem is complex. In the 19th century, staged dog fights were a place to bet on the outcome, so there was money involved. There is no simple definition of a pit bull, and even less possibility of identifying in law a person who wants to own one.

Now that publicly staged dog fights are illegal, it takes a rare personality to want to own a pit bull, and an even more warped psyche to let such a dog loose in public, where it can harm humans and dogs.

A real ban on pit bulls should have stiff penalties for owning such a dog. We do have laws about carelessness in the case of loaded guns. Sadly, such legislation can only be enforced after the gun or the dog has proved dangerous, but surely there should be a jail term for anyone whose dog causes serious injury. Lawyers would earn a lot defining how serious an injury would require such a penalty.