Today's award goes to Minnesota's state legislature.
Come July, common keys for houses, cars, boats, and motorcycles will be illegal in Minnesota, save for uncertain intervention from the state Legislature.
That's when the state's ban on the manufacture, sale, or import of keys, toys, dishes, and other common items containing more than a tiny percentage of lead or cadmium goes into effect.
The purpose of that law was to remove dangerous heavy metals from products that come into contact with children. The trouble is that almost all keys sold today have more lead than the new law's 0.09 percent limit on lead content.
Locksmiths have been warning that the state's lead ban will outlaw most of the products they sell. Alternative metals would require lengthy and expensive transition to using less functional materials, they say.
"Approximately 75 percent of all products that we stock have become prohibited for sale," said Rob Justen of Doyle Security Products.
There's more at the link.
So, in their efforts to become "greener than thou", Minnesota's politicians have condemned their electorate to being unable to get duplicate keys for almost everything they use. One might ask why the legislators didn't bother to find out more about what they were so gleefully banning before they voted, but they're politicians. Their minds don't work like that. They belong to the school of "Don't just stand there, do something!" instead of asking "What, if anything, should be done about the problem?"
It doesn't even matter if they were Democrat or Republican. I'm beginning to think that all career politicians mislay their common sense gene at or soon after birth . . .
Peter
12 comments:
It is the law of unintended consequences. People concentrate on one thing and don't think about anything outside that narrow box. Let's hope manufacturers don't change everything just to suit Minnesota; let them deal with the consequences.
Been a while since we've had one of these awards, Peter. Can't say they didn't deserve it.
You are assuming they have 'common sense' gene in the first place.
Another example - Orange County almost bans the deadly chemical dihydrogen monoxide.
Technically all aircraft flights into Minnesota are banned as the avionics use solder with lead as lead free solder grows metallic "whiskers" that can short out electrical circuits. This is going to get interesting.
So cars, boats, and all locks end up not being sold in MN is not going to go anywhere quickly.
"products that come into contact with children"
So, there's a big issue with MN children eating keys?
That might explain why teens are stupid enough to eat Tide pods.
Politicians have a gene that requires them to . . DO . . . SOMEthing.
I thought 'tin whiskers' was a zero-g (space) concern, as the whiskers don't do so well in gravity. Perhaps this law will force manufacturers to use gold/tin solder (yes, that exists).
This stupid decree applies to many "free-maching" steels...for example, the door handles I make. Over 90% are turned from this kind of steel, then after press-fit assembly electroplated and lacquered with nitrocellose lacquer. Cui bono from this dumbash diktat?
There is always a cost associated with legislation "banning" anything and everything.
This is a video about dressers (furniture) and a "back of a cigarette packet" calculation of how much it costs to prevent each death when a dresser falls on a child. Yes, it is tragic if a child dies but trying to eliminate every last possible hazard is only possible if you lock them away in a padded cell and only feed them pureed food (no choking danger) but who wants to live like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZjBL1mqGns
Incidentally, if his estimate of 187,312,500 square feet is even vaguely close, then that means an extra 4,300 acres is needed to store your socks and underpants. No wonder American houses are so big ...
Phil B
Thinly veiled blue state ammo ban?
This is the setup. Next will be adding bullets to the list of forbidden fruits.
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