OFF THE WIRE
By fitsnews
December 26, 2011
Rather than passing tax cuts, spending caps, real parental choice legislation and meaningful government restructuring, South Carolina lawmakers are once again poised to approve a bunch of kneejerk laws designed to “protect us from ourselves” when they reconvene in Columbia, S.C. next month.
Oh, and they’re poised to blow a record amount of money in the process … which is just what happens when government keeps adding to its list of functions and responsibilities.
It’s the same thing every year, sadly … and every year our state winds up a little broker, a little dumber and a little less free by the time these jokers leave town each July.
In keeping with that tradition, S.C. Sen. Ralph Anderson (D-Greenville) has prefiled legislation for the coming 2012 session that would require all motorcyclists in South Carolina to wear a helmet. Currently, only riders under the age of 21 are required to wear helmets.
Obviously, it’s stupid not to wear a helmet on a motorcycle – just as it’s stupid not to wear a seat belt in a car. Of course the last time we checked, people had the right to do stupid things. Hell, that’s an indispensable component of thinning the herd.
Without the occasional slow zebra out there, the whole food chain breaks down … right?
Anyway, Anderson’s proposed law is (rightfully) drawing criticism from A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments (ABATE) – a group of motorcycle riders who gather at the State House each year to protest infringements on our individual liberties.
Anderson’s response to these criticisms?
“They say it’s unconstitutional, but if this is, then so is the seat belt law,” Anderson recently told The (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) Sun News.
Umm … yeah. That’s our point exactly, dude.
And not only is South Carolina’s seat belt law an unnecessary restriction on our individual liberties, it isn’t working – well, unless of course your definition of “working” is giving the cops another reason to pull you over.
On December 9, 2005, South Carolina began enforcing its new primary seat belt law. Naturally, traffic fatalities decreased thereafter, right?
Wrong. In fact, there were roughly the same number of highway fatalities in South Carolina in 2006 and 2007 as there were in 2005. Fatalities decreased noticeably between 2008-2010 – but that was due primarily to the fact that fewer vehicles were traveling on our roadways as a result of the recession.
Hopefully S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley – who got a lot of love from ABATE during her six years as a state lawmaker – will pledge to veto Anderson’s law in the event it reaches her desk.
And while common sense dictates that everyone should buckle up and wear a helmet (particularly in a state like South Carolina – which has a disproportionate percentage of mouth-breathers on its roads), it’s not the government’s job to make us do that. In fact, state lawmakers should be focused on undoing invasive laws … not writing new ones.
