Thursday, December 15, 2005

Believe it or Not

mASS BACKWARDS posted this one. I'm just stunned at the level of stupidity.
A bill being heard on Beacon Hill Wednesday would make it the law in Massachusetts.

The measure would require helmets for soccer players at every level from pee-wee to college.

It would not affect professional leagues.

Some experts believe players can sustain long-term neurological damage from "heading" soccer balls. That's when players use their heads instead of their feet to shoot or pass.

The Boston Globe says the original bill called for a ban on heading, but was changed to require helmets instead.

Supporters of the bill say helmets would also protect players from head injuries suffered in collisions with other players, or with goalposts.

No other state has such a law.
Look out for legislation to come for whole body armor requirements for living in the Bay State.

Well, at least there is some consolation from the Boston Globe.
State Rep. Deborah Blumer, D-Framingham, sponsored the bill on behalf of a constituent, but conceded it likely won't pass. She said lawmakers may instead approve a commission to study sports safety legislation.

Critics said the call for helmets is an overreaction.

It's stunning to see the level of legislation at the state level.

1 comment:

Granted said...

OK. It may be time to pack the car, sell the house, grab the wife, kids, dogs and guns (not necesarily in that order) and run for a state that has at least a semblance of sanity. The least they could do is wait to see if this passes in California first.
Oh well, about two years ago, in our small town in MA, a couple of kids out joy-riding were going too fast, lost control and ran into a tree about 25 feet or so off a road and died. A local woman tried to get support to pass a bill to cut all trees back 50 feet from every road. That was insane then and the helmet thing is insane now, but apparently that's how we deal with things in this state. Maybe we could swap houses with my mother-in-law in NH. She'd be much more at home here in the People's Republic of MA.