US County Enacts "Floatie" Ordinance....

[Coito ergo sum]

People who hope to beat the summer heat by swimming, floating or boating on rivers in King County must wear a life vest or face an $86 fine.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/ ... z1PwDALame

And, now the slippery slope everyone poo-poo'ed with helmet laws and whatnot is really starting get slippery....you can't even decide for yourself whether to wear a floatie while swimming? I mean...my fucking noGod....what the hell? Part of the fun of swimming is being free to dive around under water, and be free to move about in the water. Floating devices hinder a swimmer considerably...

...but, heck...if it even saves one life....it's worth it...

Councilwoman Julia Patterson, a "yes" vote, said the same arguements Dunn made agains the life vest ordinance were also made against laws requiring child safety seats in automobiles and banning smoking in public place

Well, yeah...they made arguments that to legislate it will provide justification for more intrusive regulation, and at the time, the response was "oh, no! Don't be so alarmist! We're just making these minor exceptions to protect children, and to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke outside of their control - we would never take it to an absurd level..." Now the second half of the old switcheroo comes into play, and they say, "well, we legislated helmets, safety seats and the like, so how can you complain about this legislation...."

The much-maligned slippery slope...in action1

[Gallstones]

http://www.boatus.com/foundation/LJLP/s ... ements.asp

Effective December 23, 2002, in states where no children’s life jacket law is in place, a U.S. Coast Guard interim rule will require children under 13 on moving boats to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket that fits. Fifteen states will be affected by the rule.

This rule does not change or supercede the existing law in states which have life jacket laws, it only applies to states which had no laws. Please see the list below for the latest laws in your state.

http://www.boat-ed.com/mt/handbook/pfds.htm

Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)

* A wearable PFD (Type I, II, or III) must be available for each person on vessels less than 16 feet long, including canoes and kayaks of any length. A throwable PFD (Type IV) may not be substituted for a wearable PFD.
* Vessels 16 feet and longer must have one Type I, II, or III PFD for each person on board. In addition, one Type IV throwable PFD must be on board and be immediately available for use.
* Kids don't float, life jackets do Children under the age of 12 must wear a PFD on a vessel less than 26 feet long that is in motion.
* A Type V PFD may be used in place of any PFD if the U.S. Coast Guard has specifically approved it for the wearer’s activity. A Type V PFD must be worn at all times to be acceptable as a life jacket.
* Sailboard operators younger than 15 must wear a PFD at all times. If two or more people occupy a sailboard, each person must wear a PFD.
* Water-skiers and anyone towed by a vessel must wear a PFD.
* All persons operating or riding on a PWC must wear a PFD.
* All PFDs must be U.S. Coast Guard–approved and: