Aaron Rochester, a city councilman in Sioux City, Iowa, who led an effort to get pit bulls banned in the city is now appealing to prevent his own dog from being euthanized after it apparently bit a neighbor. His dog? A Labrador.

It’s just an anecdote, but it’s illustrative of the problems with breed-specific legislation. Bad owners create bad dogs, regardless of the dog’s lineage. Bans on pit bulls don’t prevent dog fighting, nor do they prevent people from raising vicious dogs. They just ensure that dogs fitting the pit bull description will be vicious, because the well-bred lines will be discontinued and good owners will stop raising them. Meanwhile, people who raise dogs for fighting will simply move on to another breed.

Moreover, the term pit bull isn’t really a breed at all. It’s a generic term that can and has been applied to just about any dog with bulldog and/or terrier traits (take the pit bull test here). The American Kennel Club-recognized breed that’s generally associated with the term is the American Staffordshire Terrier. And the vast, vast majority of staffies are harmless (they’re actually considered a child-friendly breed).

I hope Rochester’s dog isn’t put down, and instead sent to a trainer. But Rochester ought pay the approriate damages to his neighbor and perhaps take a couple of dog-rearing classes before he’s allowed to own another dog. Maybe he’ll even learn from all of this why specific breeds aren’t the problem.

A few years ago, Virginia’s power-tripping alcohol control board cracked down on state bars and pubs that sponsored drinking games like beer pong. Naturally, young bargoers in Northern Virginia started playing the games in their backyards. So naturally, the city of Arlington may now ban them on private property, too.

Bluemont resident James Thorne said that, since the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) board banned drinking games (such as “beer pong”) from bars and eateries, they have gravitated toward outdoor areas, such as outside local homes.

“It affects our quality of life,” Thorne said of the resulting noise.

Thorne asked board members to consider an ordinance change that would give county police the ability to request that such drinking games be moved indoors.

Board members said the matter should be investigated.

“What people do in the privacy of their own homes is their business,” board member Walter Tejada said. “When it spills out and affects the quality of the neighborhood . . . we have to take a look.”

County Manager Ron Carlee said his staff would look into the matter, coordinate with police and come back with a report to board members.

Reader Patrick Semmens sent the story, and adds via email:

As far as I can tell, this is being pushed by just one person, my next door neighbor, who is the sole proponent quoted in the Sun Gazette’s article.

For the past two years he has called the cops on my well-attended annual St.Patrick’s Day party (and last year also the Virginia Alcohol Bureau), but much to his dismay drinking beer outside during the middle of the day (and playing drinking games) is not against the law.  So he is trying to change that by imposing a law on the 200,000 citizens of Arlington County.

Now an elected member of the Arlington County Board says they are looking into it, and the county manager is wasting time and money having his staff “investigate.” A police captain was even dispatched to my house to talk about the proposed law.

The city already has noise ordinances to deal with any disturbance Semmens’ parties may have caused Thorne. Banning drinking games on private property seems a bit ridiculous. Then again, so does the idea of banning them in bars.

Semmens has set up a website to prevent the idea from gaining momentum.

The UK is proposing a new law stating that any sex with a prostitute later shown to be working in the sex trade involuntarily is per se rape, possibly punishable by life in prison. Johns will be prohibited from claiming ignorance of the prostitute’s status in their defense.

In a society where prostitution were legal, open, and market regulated, this sort of law would make some sense. Under such a regime, most (or nearly all) advertised prostitutes and brothels would, in all likelihood, be legit. Few people trafficking in sex slaves would want the attention that comes with openly advertising their services.

But black markets by definition obscure information from consumers. When prostitution is illegal (or quasi-legal, as it is Britain), it’s hard to distinguish voluntary sex workers from involuntary ones, because they’re all illegal. They all operate underground. There’s undoubtedly a clear moral distinction between patronizing a sex worker who chooses to sell her body, and one who’s forced to do perform under the threat of harm by a pimp or a mama-san. The problem is that under a prohibition on prostitution, it becomes more difficult for Johns to make that distinction.

The other sad irony here is that I would guess that all else being equal, most Johns don’t want to have sex with a woman against her will. Yes, I’m sure many Johns today practice some willful ignorance about the status of the prostitutes they patronize. But in a society where sex for money were open and legal, the sex slave trade would almost certainly lose a huge chunk of its market share (whatever that may be). Given the option between legal sex with an advertised prostitute or brothel or risking arrest by having sex with a prostitute in a shady, unadvertised, unregulated, underground brothel that may be using sex slaves, I don’t think it’s wildly speculative to say that most Johns would choose the former.

In any case, under such a scenario, you could certainly make a stronger case for throwing the book at those who choose the latter.

The Governator signs a trans-fat ban for all of Cal-ee-fornia.

Meanwhile, Seattle slaps a 20-cent tax on plastic bags, and bans foam packaging at fast food restaurants.

Federal prosecutors are twisting the law into all sorts of nifty shapes in order to levy charges against Lori Drew, the Missouri woman who posed as a teenage boy to tease and torment Megan Meier, a nemesis of her daughter’s. Meier, you may remember, committed suicide as a result.

Drew is an awful person, and clearly needs some psychological help. But come on. If what she did is a crime, then the millions of people who’ve ever fibbed on a MySpace or Facebook profile have committed crimes, too. All this proves is that the federal criminal code is vast and vague enough that no matter what you’ve done, some politically ambitious U.S. attorney hungry for some publicity can figure out a way to charge you.

Meanwhile, the Missouri legislature is responding to the Meier tragedy by contemplating a bill that would make it a crime to be mean to someone–and a felony for an adult to be mean to a minor.

Guess what, folks? Sometimes really, really awful things happen. They just do. It’s time we accepted that, and stopped looking to pass reactionary laws or invent crimes to pin on someone every time a sad story hits the Internets.

I don’t know which is worse, that the city of Cleveland requires a “music permit” and a “pool table permit,” or that failing to obtain one is a criminal offense.

California wants to ban driving with a dog in your lap. If this were causing people to drive recklessly, you’d think it would be covered by laws against . . . reckless driving.

Proving that stupid ideas never die…

Congressmen Peter J. Roskam (R-IL) today unveiled his “There Oughta Be a Law” initiative at a press conference in Bloomingdale. Roskam was joined by State Senator Dan Cronin, State Senator Kirk Dillard, State Senator Christine Radogno, State Senator Carol Pankau, State Representative Randy Ramey, State Representative Sandy Pihos, Bloomingdale Mayor Bob Iden and Erickson Elementary School Principal Dr. John Markgraf. Roskam released the following statement:

“As a new member of Congress, I have learned first-hand what most 6th District residents already know, Washington is broken. Partisan politics have hamstrung Congress’ ability to find solutions to the most pressing problems our nation faces.

“The constituents I represent are reasonable folks with sound ideas – and it’s time to send a little more 6th District solutions to Washington.

“Therefore, I am proud to give my constituents the unique opportunity to have their legislative idea introduced in Congress. The very best way to restore faith in our nation’s government is to empower individuals. This is the ultimate definition of representative government.

“Working together, we will send more common sense to Washington and Springfield.”

Another city wants to impound your car for playing your radio too loud.

• Yet another study confirms the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption.
  

  After 4 years of follow-up, new moderate drinkers had a 38% lower chance of developing cardiovascular disease than did their non-drinking counterparts. Even after adjusting for physical activity, Body Mass Index, demographic and cardiac risk factors, this difference persisted.

• Four-year-olds allegedly handcuffed by school safety officer for refusing to take a nap.
• Exhaustive review of 600,000 documents seized after our invasion in 2003 finds no connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda.
• The march to post-reductio America continues. Minnesota lawmaker wants to ban scents in public schools.
• Conservative “Blogger of the Year” and terminal douche Ace of Spades on why he defended GOP hypocrite sex customer Sen. David Vitter but is now jumping all over Democratic hypocrite sex customer Gov. Eliot Spitzer:
  

  “Shut up, that’s why.”

  Can’t argue with that!

A Kentucy lawmaker wants to ban . . . well . . .most of  you.

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.

The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site.

Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted.

If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.

Representative Couch says he filed the bill in hopes of cutting down on online bullying.

In a new report for CEI, Eli Lehrer looks at a series of dumb products and activities that the various states have banned. Here’s a little taste:

Louisiana’s unique-in-the nation florist licensing statute makes it illegal for anybody to arrange two or more types of flowers without passing a largely subjective state licensing exam. In theory, a child could face a fine for picking a bouquet of flowers and selling it at a roadside stand.

Whole thing here.