
Vermont Bill Proposes Ban on Cellphone Use for Anyone Under 21 - fortran77
https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-bill-would-ban-cellphone-use-for-anyone-under-21/30456265#
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majos
> "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-...](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/BILLS/S-0212/S-0212%20As%20Introduced.pdf)

[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)

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hanniabu
Good 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.

~~~
unishark
If 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
Wow, that's just absurd. Never heard that one before.

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dang
Bill proposals are rarely on topic for HN. Most bills never go anywhere.

[https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20bills&sort=byDate&type=comment)

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favorited
"I have no delusions that it's going to pass... I wouldn't probably vote for
it myself."

Well, at least he's not _totally_ out to lunch.

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dpflan
OK, if we explore this idea, I think there is a valid question of what are the
effects of prolonged cellphone/laptop/screen on development. There _could_ be
negative consequence to individuals (micro-level) and society (macro-level).

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RickJWagner
We only gave our kids cell phones when they were old enough to be out without
parents (so they could call home if needed.)

I wouldn't like not being able to do that.

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oneplane
Does anyone have an alternate link? "Sorry, this content is not available in
your region."

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usr1106
Maybe you are not 21 yet :)

Seriously, I guess it's one of that web sites blocked for EU readers because
of fear of GDPR. Well, I guess I can survive without that article.

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neiman
"Sorry, this content is not available in your region."

Second time today in HN while reading from the EU.

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welder
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200109230545/https://www.mynbc...](https://web.archive.org/web/20200109230545/https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-
bill-would-ban-cellphone-use-for-anyone-under-21/30456265)

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kbd
What on earth is their justification? You can drive a car, vote, and go to war
at 18 but not use a cell phone? What politician would put their name behind
this?

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munk-a
Gosh yea, other than this specific proposal all laws in the US make sense - I
sure am glad you can drink when you're 18 and no states have stupid religious
laws limiting sales on Sundays to tiny bottles.

