Nevada turning nanny state

Nevada lawmakers are considering a ban on tanning beds, not for everyone, just children. It doesn’t matter whether they were given parental consent. SB 267, which has passed the state senate, would ban people under the age of 18 from using a tanning salon. Just another example of how the great and benevolent rulers know what’s best for the lowly, ignorant subjects. The government gets to decide what you children can and cannot do, not their parents. Where is the freedom in that? I have never been to a tanning salon, nor do I ever intend to patronize one but who is the government to tell me that I can’t send my child if they want to artificially tan themselves? If great and all powerful government has determined they are harmful, why are they allowed to be used by anyone? Doesn’t the government already regulate the indoor tanning industry and if it is harmful, why are they still in use? This is just another example of an overreaching government controlling citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the first foray for Nevada into the nanny state, think smoking bans, helmet laws, seat belt laws and the most recent, text free driving. While Nevada has not delved as deep into the nanny state as some others states have, the increasing passage and more restrictive laws show we may be well on the way to nanny state laws in New York and California. What is the next thing we ban because the people are too stupid to know what’s good for them? Are Trans fats next, like California where you can’t even get a real Oreo. Or are we headed the way of New York City, where not only do they have strict gun laws but also strict salt laws, soda size laws. Mayor Bloomberg is not stopping with salt and soda; he recently outlawed donations to homeless shelters because the salt content couldn’t be determined. Now he is also attacking Styrofoam, that awful material must not be used, it’s just so terrible. When did it become the job of the government to tell people how they live, what they could and could not consume? Where did we give consent to government on what our children can and cannot do? When did we stop paying attention to what our elected officials did to us? With the country more interested in celebrity babies, American Idol and Honey Boo Boo is it no wonder that our government officials do whatever they want. Now is the time to stand up and tell our officials that we are the boss, that we know what’s best for us, not them. Contact your state legislators here and tell them to vote against any nanny state laws.

Sex ed for 5 year olds?

The Nevada Assembly has introduced a bill to the current legislative session revising the teaching of sex education in the state’s schools. Thirteen of our elected officials have sponsored a bill, currently in committee that will change the way sex education is taught throughout the state, starting at the kindergarten level. Yes, that is correct at the kindergarten level. Assembly bill 230 is currently in the education committee for review, which Elliot Anderson is the chair. This bill would set standards to be used throughout the state to teach sex education to our children, starting in kindergarten. Of course the bill states material will be age appropriate but what sex is appropriate for a five year old? The bill will require teaching such things as gender identity, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception. One of the areas that I’m opposed to is the parent reporting process has been changed. Under this new bill, parents have to opt their children out of the course of instruction. A note will be sent home saying that your kid is going to be taught sex education unless you sign the form opting your child out of the course of instruction. Before this bill, children were not automatically required to take the sex education course, the parents had to sign a consent form allowing their child to take the course. Now it will be up to the child to give the notice to their parents and return it to the teacher. Even my fifth grader forgets to give me notes home from school and that would be enough for him to be receiving sex education without my consent and possibly even my knowledge. If I do receive the permission slip and opt my child out of the course, it’s still his responsibility to turn it in to his teacher and he could just not turn it in and I would be none the wiser. Another aspect I have a problem with is the goal to prepare students for sexual activity or future sexual activity. I can understand the need for some sex education in the school system, but not in elementary school and definitely not in kindergarten. It is not the job of the school to teach sex or to prepare them for sexual activity. The job of the school is to teach the next generation how to think and how to be productive members of society. More and more the education system is producing nothing. It’s not producing students capable of college class work and it’s not producing students ready for the workforce. I urge everyone to contact their Assemblymen and tell them to defeat this measure. The Nevada Assembly page has an easy way to contact your elected officials, click here for the link.

Nevada falls in rankings again

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has released the latest freedom rankings, Freedom In The 50 States. Nevada dropped to 20th in the overall rankings from 13th just a few years ago and down from 4th in 2001. The Mercatus Center measures several variables and different types of freedom ranging from personal freedoms to economic freedoms. The interactive map is a very easy way to compare different states and even classify them according to how you rank the value of different types of freedom. You can even create your chart. Why has Nevada fallen from a top 5 to barely above average? The main factor Nevada has dropped is because of its fiscal ranking. In 2001, Nevada ranked 8th in fiscal policy and in the latest ranking, Nevada dropped to 33rd. Fiscal policy includes the tax burden, government spending, government employment, government debt and fiscal decentralization. A large portion of this decline could be attributed to the recession, the loss of personal income and the decline in tourism really hurt Nevada’s fiscal rankings. While our regulatory score is improving, the only thing keeping our score above average is our rankings in personal freedom, mainly because of legalized gambling and legalized prostitution. Nevada isn’t the only place that dropping in freedom rankings, the United States is dropping on the world freedom rankings as well. It’s really disturbing that the United States, the freest country in the world barely ranks in the top ten. The land of the free and home of the brave is fading, the economic stranglehold the government applies is sucking the freedom out of our country. I think it speaks volumes when a communist controlled Hong Kong leads the freedom rankings. Granted, it’s ranked on economic freedom and China only took control in 1997, but shouldn’t the freest country on the planet be ranked first? Even when you factor in personal freedom, the United States still ranks in the bottom half of the top ten. Like I said earlier, it’s not a very good ranking for the “freest” country in the world. Please see my examiner article here for links.