Vermont state Sen. John Rodgers (D) has introduced legislation that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to use or possess a cellphone. The proposal would punish anyone under the age threshold found with a cellphone with up to one year in prison, a $1,000 fine or both.
Based on the information in the bill, a cellphone is more dangerous than a gun. The text of the bill says: “The Internet and social media, accessed primarily through cell phones, are used to radicalize and recruit terrorists, fascists, and other extremists. Cell phones have often been used by mass shooters of younger ages for research on previous shootings.”
The legislation notes that those under 21 “aren’t mature enough” to use cellphones. It says, “In light of the dangerous and life-threatening consequences of cellphone use by young people, it is clear that persons under 21 years of age are not developmentally mature enough to safely possess them, just as the General Assembly has concluded that persons under 21 years of age are not mature enough to possess firearms, smoke cigarettes or consume alcohol.”
Rodgers wrote the legislation to make a point and to protest of a series of bills that went through the state raising the legal age to 21 to buy cigarettes or own a firearm without a gun safety certificate. President Trump recently raised the age to buy cigarettes to 21 nationwide when he signed the most recent spending bills in December.
Rodgers said he doesn’t expect the measure to become law. Rodgers said, “I have no delusions that it’s going to pass. I wouldn’t probably vote for it myself.”
