Christina Nuckols writes an op-ed today praising Del. Sal Iaquinto’s efforts to install ignition locks on vehicles belonging to convicted drunk drivers. The bill, which has support of the Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers, was reported out of committee with only one dissenting vote (Del. Ken Melvin, Democrat representing Norfolk and Portsmouth) of 22 cast, and is likely to pass the House with perhaps as many as 80 votes, is still probably DOA in the Senate.
Given that Democrats are often calling for trigger locks on hand guns, it is strange that they would suddenly oppose installing locks on another killing device (and one which does far more fatal damage than guns every year) – especially given the broad bipartisan appeal of the bill.
The bill says that a lock is installed on a vehicle belonging to a convicted drunk driver for a period of six months. The lock has a built in breathalyzer which prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver blows a 0.02 or higher (and also causes the horn to sound and lights to flash). This prevents the driver from driving drunk again, but it also keeps them out of jail and allows them to continue to live their lives – hopefully as contributing members of society.
Given Democrats recent desire to let felons out of jail early to save money, you would think this bill would be a no-brainer.
One has to wonder whether this has more to do with ensuring Democrats get credit for such a bill or whether they actually want to keep drunk drivers on the roadways?
