Legislation proposed in the General Assembly to allow members of Congress to use blue lights on their vehicles is a bad idea.
Just plain bad.
That it came from a veteran lawmaker in Durham is even more troubling. State Sen. Floyd McKissick has worked on Jones Street for a long time, and certainly ranks as one of the Democratic Party’s more respected voices.
This is just plain bad.
Senate Bill 618 would allow current members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, in their officially registered vehicles “in the performance of the member’s official duties,” to use blue lights. McKissick’s explanation is that “there are frequently times when they’re trying to meet deadlines.”
Beg your pardon, senator. Who among us is not frequently trying to meet a deadline?
And more to the point of what this boils down to, who among us is above or beneath the law?
G.K. Butterfield, the Democrat representing the northeastern part of North Carolina, feels he is in the “above” category. Republican Danny Britt, the second-term state senator from Robeson County, apparently agrees. Reports say it is Butterfield who asked McKissick for the bill and Britt agreed to be the primary sponsor with the six-term senator.
The Durham lawmaker said Butterfield cited safety in making the request, “so they could get out of situations where their life would be at risk,” McKissick is quoted as saying. Begging your pardon again, senator, but that’s not meeting a deadline.
Anybody else see the evolving mess?
Last time we heard a congressman was back home in the Old North State and their life became endangered to the point they needed to make a quick getaway was … well, we’re stumped.
There are no other sponsors of the bill. That’s the good news in this horrible idea.
In North Carolina, it’s a Class 1 misdemeanor if anyone other than law enforcement uses blue lights on a vehicle. Let’s keep it that way, congressmen included.
In our state, there are a few things we can count on when it comes to recognizing blue lights and lawmen. They’re the only ones using blue lights. For another example, few of us would not immediately recognize the distinct hat worn by state troopers — they will always have it on if they stop and then approach a vehicle.
We have a lot of respect for our congressmen. They agree to represent us, deal with a lot more inside the Beltway than most of us could imagine, and answer to us at the ballot box.
They are not, however, above the law or us.
This bill is a bad idea. McKissick has since said it’s not a high priority.
It should not even exist.
We’ve got serious problems in North Carolina, ones that need a lot more attention than G.K. Butterfield or anyone else getting to use blue lights when they come home.