Government - to protect the people from the people?

Sounds Orwellian, no? So imagine my surprise to open the Sun Chronicle this morning and read that my Senator, James Timilty (D), is pushing legislation to ban metal basketball nets. Why? According to the article, a fifth-grade girl from Walpole hurt her hand - badly - in a metal net. I feel bad for her and her family; I truly do. But what should the response be? More legislation to protect us from ourselves?

There are lots of things we do in our daily lives that could be made safer in one way or another. But that doesn't mean that the legislature should micromanage our lives for us. Remember the ban on Fluff? If enough people feel Walpole should replace the metal nets with nylon nets, they'll speak up and it will get done. In fact, the story continues to say that Walpole removed the metal nets after the incident. That's the way this kind of change should happen; not with legislation.

So how does a state senator look into the eyes of a 5th-grade constituent and say no? It would have taken courage, yes, but it would also have been a great teaching opportunity.