Seat belts, bike helments and pythons oh my!

I am against seat belt laws, bike helmet laws and other similar types of things that impede on personal freedom.

To be clear, I think all of the aforementioned items are great things to have and use. My kids wear bike helmets when out riding on public streets, and we wear seat belts everywhere when driving. I would do both of these if they were not laws. I actually have the ability to make an intelligent, well-thought out choice on my own.

I read an article today about a Burmese python that crushed a toddler in Florida. It’s tragic, and should not have happened. I am sure everyone involved feels just wretched. What frosts me about the story is the very last paragraph:

“Florida Senator Bill Nelson introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress in February to ban the importation and interstate trade of the reptiles.”

Do we really need a US congressman involved in this kind of legislation? Do we need a federal law about not having Burmese pythons in your house if you have kids? How about having just 2 oz of common freaking sense?

I may not be a smart man ( to quote Forrest Gump ), but I can figure out on my own that if you have an animal in your house that has no concept of a domesticated existence, they might just turn on you one day and bad things will happen.

Get to work on the real issues of our day, Congressman Nelson, instead of making political hay out of personal tragedy.