More Montanans will die young thanks to Senate vote
It's February and the Legislature's in session. That means it's time for the state's biennial act of violence to its citizens.For the third session in a row, our elected representatives have chosen to turn their backs on the certainty that a simple "Yes" vote would save the lives of some of their fellow residents. You'd think it'd be an easy decision — to save lives by pushing a button to vote on a bill — but you'd be wrong.
Two Republican senators — Joe Balyeat of Bozeman and Verdell Jackson of Kalispell — switched their votes on the final reading, reversing the outcome from the previous reading, so that Montana law enforcers still will not be allowed to make traffic stops when they see that people in a vehicle are not buckled up.
"My platform is that I protect people's wallets and their freedom," Jackson said after switching his vote.
Well, senator, you don't. You don't protect us from higher health-care costs because of the horrific injuries unbelted and often-uninsured accident victims suffer. And you don't protect us from losing federal revenue that would accrue to the state if it had a primary enforcement seat-belt law. Many people think saving money would be desirable in an austere budget year.
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