However, a 16 year old kid still living with his mother, who has a 55 gallon aquarium and no plan for the poor animal when it reaches even 8 feet long - THAT upsets me.
And why should that affect me? If I want to keep a burmese and have the proper enclosure size, complete with locks on the cage to prevent escape and I take all the necessary precautions when handling said snake, why should the mistakes of the mother you mention (because obviously in the end, it is her fault for not telling her child no to an animal she knows nothing about) affect my ability to keep the snake I want?

You are comparing things that are not related. You can keep these large snakes in very small enclosures in comparison to keeping a wolf or tiger. Now if someone wants to set aside a few acres of land and build a secure enclosure for the tiger and has all the proper permits from the given state (if applicable) and has the necessary training, then I think that person should be allowed to keep what they want to keep.