Vermont: Proposed Bill Would Ban Cellphone Use For Anyone Under 21

[mountaineer]

Proposed Bill Would Ban Cellphone Use For Anyone Under 21
January 9, 2020 at 1:11 pm

MONTPELIER, Vt. (CBS Local) — A bill introduced in the Vermont Senate would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to use or possess a cellphone in the state.

The bill, S.212, would make possession or use of a cellphone a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of a year behind bars or a $1,000 fine or both.

The legislation links cellphone use by people under the age of 21 to a rise in driving fatalities, suicides, mass shootings and terrorism.

“The internet and social media, accessed primarily through cell phones, are used to radicalize and recruit terrorists, fascists and other extremists,” the bill reads. ...

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[roamer_1]

I am not in Vermont, so far be it from me to tell them what to do... And part of me sees this as a healthy thing to do... But thinking back to raising my own teens, I would at least want a phone on my kids so that I could reach them, and so they could call for aid.

[mountaineer]

They're worrying about fascists, but not teens and young adults who actually work and might need to make a call whenever they get a flat tire, or worse?

[roamer_1]

They're worrying about fascists, but not teens and young adults who actually work and might need to make a call whenever they get a flat tire, or worse?

They are right to be worried about the distraction while driving, which I am sure they have data to back that up... And the impressions upon young minds of unbridled internet access certainly concerned me as a father with teens...

So a lot of this thinking is legit. But I don't think an all-out ban is a good solution.

[PeteS in CA]

11 out of 10 pedophiles approve. So do thugs picking out fast-food places to knock off. And school-shooter wannabes.

[jmyrlefuller]

The bill was proposed by Vermont State Senator (D) John Rodgers. The senator told The Barre Montpelier Times Argus that he is trying to make a point and that he has, "no delusions that it’s going to pass. I wouldn’t probably vote for it myself."

Now let's see how many of his fellow legislators actually take this seriously.