repealing them because they do not accomplish their intended purpose. Still, municipalities respond to the latest dog attack story on the news by attempting to pass laws that ban specific breeds outright or restrict their ownership, such as by requiring muzzles when off the owner’s property (this was recently proposed, but defeated, in San Francisco), or exorbitant levels of liability insurance coverage. The latter is equivalent to an outright ban, given the widespread and entirely legal insurance company practice of denying coverage based on breed.

When such laws are enacted, the most tragic victims are the innocent young pit bulls or other targeted breeds who are awaiting adoption in shelters. Shelters already face a daunting task in finding homes for their charges. Add to that a ban on ownership of a particular breed, and the result is the needless euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals merely because they happen to be pit bulls, Rottweilers or whichever breed is next to make the evening news. Lawmakers must be made to understand that breed-specific laws are effective at achieving only one, unacceptable outcome: the death of friendly dogs who’ve done no harm.