Bad Dog! Good Gun!

Last week's Washington Post reported on a Virginia woman sentenced to three years in prison after her three pit bulls mauled an 82-year-old neighbor to death. Fair enough--the woman deserved at least that much, as neighbors had complained repeatedly about the aggressive dogs running loose.

In the wake of the dog attack, the family of the deceased woman--she had seven children, 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren--collected petition signatures to tighten Virginia's laws. This month, the arch-conservative Virginia general assembly passed a law making an attack by a "dangerous dog"--essentially, a mutt that has previously attacked a human or killed a domestic animal--a potential felony for the dog's owner, punishable by up to 5 years in jail.

Just as importantly, the Virginia legislation creates a "dangerous dog" registry and requires owners of dangerous dogs to maintain liability insurance. So, do the wise mavens of the Virginia General Assembly have a similar attitude toward state citizens who harbor dangerous guns?

WHAT, ARE YOU KIDDING? Of course not. Didn't you know the National Rifle Association's world headquarters is in Virginia? Indeed, the Virginia legislature narrowly defeated a bill this year that would have PROHIBITED private business owners from banning concealed weapons on their property!

In any event, just try to sue a Virginia gun owner, or better yet, gun shop, for negligently storing or selling a weapon and see where you get: nowhere. So Virginians, let your guns lie around, not to worry. Sell a semi-automatic to some lunatic, big deal. But . . . let your dogs run wild, you're looking at jail time and personal liability! Dog owners, have you thought about joining up with the NRA--their neanderthalic lobbyists never would have let this happen!