re: #324 pingjockey

Gaaah! Beck(Napolitano) has Rand Paul on right now!

Rand Paul. What a dunce. Here’s the latest:

Really libertarian. In an interview in the upcoming Sunday New York Times magazine, Paul says that he doesn’t believe that automobile passengers should be required to wear seat belts:

But in light of your distrust of the federal government, where are you on an issue like seat belts? Federal legislation requiring people to wear seat belts could obviously save lives.

I think the federal government shouldn’t be involved. I don’t want to live in a nanny state where people are telling me where I can go and what I can do.

Actually, the NYT’s Deborah Solomon is mistaken — federal law since 1968 has required all vehicles except for buses to be equipped with seat belts. But legislation requiring vehicle occupants to wear seat belts is left to the states. It’s not clear if Paul supports state laws regarding seat belt usage although he seems pretty emphatic about not being told what to do by any governmental authority.

As this excerpt indicates seat belt usage is up to the states. I find it odd that a so called physician (opthamologist) would be advocating against seat belt laws.