The Tomes of Northwest Indiana reports on what it calls "some of the seemingly wackier bills" among the 789 laws proposed "so far" in this session of the General Assembly:
The Indiana of the future may be a state where the national anthem always is sung correctly, creationism is taught alongside evolution in schools, the danger of novelty lighters is extinguished forever, and you won't be able to buy a drink at a strip club but you might be able to buy a sawed-off shotgun, though probably not at a strip club.
And let's not slide right by that number the way the newspaper did -- 789 bills introduced so far, in a short session. We are so uncivilized that we nead almost 800 new laws that will be considered during 30 working days while most legislators' brain power is consumed thinking about right-to-work legislation?
This may take the prize for oddest proposal; it strikes me as stranger even than the one setting singing standards for the national anthem at schools:
House Bill 1056, sponsored by state Rep. Randy Frye, R-Greensburg, makes illegal lighters shaped like an animal, animated character, vehicle, weapon, telephone or food; or with "entertaining audio or visual effects." Non-entertaining audio or visual effects would appear to be acceptable, though Hoosiers will know for sure only by checking the banned lighter list on website of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
If we check
TSA guidelines, we find that air travelers are permitted to carry "one book of matches or one fueled lighter" on board. So why not ban fun and entertaining matches, too?
