My right to bear Pit Bulls

Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t belong to (or particularly care for) the NRA/NHRA, or Hail the Almighty Heston. I won’t be out at any gun rallies, or picking up my 2010 copy of the “Babes of the Militia” calendar. In fact, I’ve never thought one way or another about guns previously. I was raised with a Dad who is an avid hunter, in a part of the country where hunting is a way of life. I remember my Dad teaching me to shoot his hunting rifle in our backyard and chuckling when the kickback nearly sent me flying backwards (to be fair, he did warn me). As I grew up and became a firm non-hunter (sorry Dad) I really never gave guns a second thought. Until I lived alone. I have lived alone for many years over my life, and even now have a boyfriend who is gone for long stretches of time. And I absolutely believe that I should have the right to protect myself when I am home alone should the unthinkable ever happen.

So how did Pit Bulls help me come to this decision? Well, read the rest of the post and feel free to interchange the word “Gun” with “Pit Bull” at anytime.

There are a lot of people out there who do not think that I, or anyone, should be allowed to keep a Pit Bull at our houses. They have tried several times, in several cities, to ban them outright because “they are too dangerous”. Where they couldn’t ban them, they have tried to seriously restrict them and place a lot of extra fees and rules on those that have a Pit Bull. Extra licensing fees, heavier dog restrictions in public, etc.

The thing is, this only penalizes the responsible owners, because these are the only people who will actually adhere to these rules. The people who are irresponsible and own the types of Pit Bulls that you hear about in the news killing some poor, unsuspecting, toddler, will not be the same people adhering to the law. And the criminal element who keeps their status Pit Bulls, would still keep them even if they were completely outlawed. They don’t care about the law in the first place. We are not deterring the bad people; we are punishing the good people.

And what happens if Pit Bulls are outlawed? The people who abuse their capabilities will assuredly just find another means to get their point across; another way to prove that they are mean and tough. The Pit Bull is merely the outlet, or the symbolic representative, of the image that they are trying to portray. The problem is not the Pit Bull; it is the owner.

So here I am, the responsible, harmless ,5′4, little redhead from the suburbs who wants to retain my right (and yes my privilege) to keep a Pit Bull. Because Pit Bulls don’t kill people; irresponsible owners do.