komodos in captivity are pretty tame towards their regular keepers, they most certainly can recognize different people and are more wary of strangers. I don't know of anyone in the US who owns one in a personal collection, I only know of them in zoos. The regulations on komodos are not based on possible danger, but because of conservation issues. Galapagos tortoises, for example, are pretty much the most impossible-to-get reptiles in the world because of conservation issues.

People in the US, depending on location, can legally own gators and caimans and other large, dangerous reptiles. Heck check out the Hots forum here on ball-pythons.net for people "with a deathwish"