4 ms·
> "I have no delusions that it's going to pass," [the state senator who introduced the bill] told reporter Eric Blaisdell. "I wouldn't probably vote for it myse
by majos 7y ago
> "I have no delusions that it's going to pass," [the state senator who introduced the bill] told reporter Eric Blaisdell. "I wouldn't probably vote for it myself."
So it's not a serious bill. But I don't get what conversation the guy's trying to start. The full bill -- under two pages of generously spaced text [1] -- cites four justifications, conveniently arranged by decreasing plausibility:
> (1) The use of cell phones while driving is one of the leading killers of teenagers in the United States... (2) Young people frequently use cell phones to bully and threaten other young people, activities that have been linked to many suicides. (3) The Internet and social media, accessed primarily through cell phones, are used to radicalize and recruit terrorists, fascists, and other extremists. (4) Cell phones have often been used by mass shooters of younger ages for research on previous shootings.
And then it proposes prison sentences up to a year just for possession? Yeah, weird.
My best guess is it's a publicity-seeking protest against Vermont's recent decisions to raise the tobacco [2] and firearm [3] purchasing ages to 21. The last bit of the cell phone bill suggests this.
> (5) In light of the dangerous and life-threatening consequences of cell phone use by young people, it is clear that persons under 21 years of age are not developmentally mature enough to safely possess them, just as the General Assembly has concluded that persons under 21 years of age are not mature enough to possess firearms, smoke cigarettes, or consume alcohol.
[1] https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/BILLS/S-0212/S-0212%20As%20Introduced.pdf https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/BILLS/S-...
[2] https://liquorcontrol.vermont.gov/Tobacco21 https://liquorcontrol.vermont.gov/Tobacco21
[3] https://dps.vermont.gov/content/new-vermont-gun-laws-faqs https://dps.vermont.gov/content/new-vermont-gun-laws-faqs
- catalogia 7y agoHe's probably doing it for the "boomer memes", I'm sure a large part of his constituency thinks this is the funniest thing ever. You probably know the sort; those who laugh at those comics where the kid says "Dad, this iPad is broken." and the old wise boomer says "Son, that's a magazine." Side splitting stuff.
- hanniabu 7y agoGood ol' America, where you can enlist at 17, but can't drink, smoke, or own a firearm until 21. Also where it's illegal to pay somebody to have sex, unless you're filming it.
- tw04 7y agoBecause by 21 most people have matured enough to realize the insanity of voluntarily enlisting with the way our current government treats the military. We'll spend billions of dollars on getting you into a war, but when you come home you're not our problem. Gotta get them before they have any roots or real-world experience.
- unishark 7y agoIf you are 18 and arrested for drinking alcohol, you get charged as an adult with underage drinking. Because you're now old enough to know better.
- hanniabu 7y agoWow, that's just absurd. Never heard that one before.
- bsder 7y ago> Also where it's illegal to pay somebody to have sex, unless you're filming it. It's only truly legal in certain specific locations that have jurisprudence legalizing it. Pornographic filming is likely illegal in most places in the US, and, even in many "legal" places, you will have to hire a lawyer and fight it out if you get arrested.
- yellowapple 7y ago"Also where it's illegal to pay somebody to have sex, unless you're filming it." Or you're here in Nevada (and willing to travel to a county that hasn't explicitly outlawed it).
- taborj 7y ago> own a firearm until 21 Point of clarification -- that's only certain states, and certain firearms.
- abtinf 7y agoI’m surprised he didn’t throw in a child pornography justification. It would be the most plausible one too—I know parents who are terrified about their kids sending photos/videos from their phones.
- unishark 7y agoI was expecting it to be about protection from the radio waves.
- thrower123 7y agoDoes Vermont have one of those laws where constituents can write bills and submit them to their reps for consideration? Massachusetts does, and it's always good for a few kooky ones.