Indiana State Senator Jim Merritt, who appears to be frightened of loud noises, is once again trying to restrict the sale of Tannerite, a high-stability binary explosive used to make reactive targets.* --He's a Republican, so don't tell me any one party has a lock on wanting to be Nanny.
Two years ago, the Senator went on a crusade to ban sales of the explosive to anyone under 18 -- despite the fact that you can't set Tannerite off with anything but a high-velocity rifle round, and guess who can't, per Fedral law, buy high-velocity rifles? Yes, persons under 18. His bill got, well, not exactly laughed out of committee, not in public, but it didn't make any progress, either.
Like a quivering zombie with shot nerves, he's back with the same tired tales of foolish people doing foolish things and proving the flip side of Darwinism, about which There Ought To Be A Law. This despite the fact that there already are laws about building bombs, as opposed to filling up a bag or cardboard box with something that will go "Ka-BLAM!" when you shoot it with an AK-15/AR-47.
He'd also like to limit the amount that any one retailer could sell you at one go -- forgetting, I guess, that a person enamored of big booms could save the stuff up, or enlist the aid of a few few friends.
Hey, kids: don't surround your reactive targets with shrapnel. Get adult supervision if you want to blow up old refrigerators or junk cars and remember, the thing about an *explosion* is that using anything you can buy off the shelf, it goes in all directions -- including the desk of Nervous Nellie Jim Merritt.
At present, the chairman of the committee looking over the bill isn't convinced. He doesn't see the need -- and neither do I. Senator Merritt's district sprawls across northeast Marion County (Lawrence Township and a tiny piece of Washington) and southern Hamilton County (Fall Creek Township). It might help lead him back to reality to hear from you.
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* Also to trigger avalanches and scare off birds. So try not to avalanche yourself, either.
Most laws are there only for stupid people who have no common sense and need to be governed.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to political critters my cynicism pegs the top end of the scale. Because his bill specifically targets a single private business, I say this loose cannon is acting in behalf of an as yet unknown benefactor. Look amongst those who stand to profit by reduction of Tannerite sales volume to ident that entity. As always, follow the money.
ReplyDeleteAK15? AR47? hummmm
ReplyDelete