From the Raleigh News & Observer comes the latest nanny-state story from people who, no doubt, are well intentioned, but who clearly and naively believe the government should step in to prevent others from doing anything they personally wouldn’t do themselves (emphasis is mine).
The House voted for a bill Monday that would make it a crime to leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
Currently, adults can be charged under child-abuse statutes if children are left alone in unsafe conditions. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, makes it unlawful to leave a child younger than 9 alone in a car if a reasonable person would think that the child is at risk. Leaving the engine running or keys in the car with a child would also be against the law.
The bill, which will now move to the Senate, would make an exception if the driver has a line of sight to the car. That means if someone runs into the dry cleaner but can still see his or her car in the parking lot, the bill wouldn’t apply, said Rep. Alice Graham Underhill, a New Bern Democrat and sponsor of the bill.
As the story indicates, there is already a law in place. So why another one? And exactly who gets to decide who is a “reasonable person”?
