By Denise Ross

In a national media moment that would make PP proud - of a Democrat, even - SD state Rep. Garry Moore, D-Yankton, stood up for Gov. Mike Rounds in his veto of a law that would have required young children to ride in booster seats. Read/listen to the NPR report here.

I’m to the point anymore where I firmly believe that maybe government should just take the children at birth and raise them for us, Moore said. They’re not letting parents make their own decisions anymore. And it just seems ludicrous to me to make these laws telling parents what to do.

Moore was speaking to increased pressure coming from the National Transportation Safety Board trying to get three hold-out states - SD, Arizona, Florida - to pass booster seat laws.

If they use a booster seat and a seat belt, rather than a seat belt alone, they reduce their risk of injury by 59 percent. said Deborah Hersman, head of the NTSB. And what the data and the facts tell us is that it’s much safer to be in a booster seat that restrains your child properly in the event of an accident.

The NPR report did not mention Project 8, Gov. Rounds’ program to promote the use of child seats and distribute them for free to some families. I had our little David’s seat checked out by this program, and I understand it is Rounds’ idea to “educate not legislate.” For South Dakota’s sake, I wish this information had been included as I think it’s a valid, non-hayseed policy position to try to increase the use of booster seats through this kind of a program rather than through tickets and fines. (Anyone know of any data on child seat use in South Dakota versus other states?)

In any event, we can be sure this one will be with is during the law-making months of January and February. I don’t look for Rounds to change his position.

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