Letters to the editor can be submitted to news@chronline.com.
After reading of your vocal stand against government overreach, I am hoping you might support me in my own battle with government.
Enclosed is a copy of a ticket issued to me last week (June 16) by the Washington State Patrol for driving without a seatbelt. This is the first time I have been pulled over, much less ticketed, in maybe 10 to 15 years. Now retired, the $139 fine seems a bit excessive.
I would guess I wear a seatbelt 90 percent of the time. Common sense says folks should wear a seatbelt, but if I fail to wear one and am injured or killed in an accident while not wearing a seatbelt, the consequences are limited to me. Gov. Jay Inslee says wearing masks helps to protect others on the chance that we might unknowingly be carrying the COVID virus and passing it on to others.
Hearing of your strong support for individual choice and against government trying to legislate personal choices, I am hoping you might write me a letter in opposition to mandatory seatbelt wearing. I could then take it to a magistrate, supporting my case to have the ticket be thrown out. I realize the chances of my winning such a case are limited, but with your support, chances would probably be better.
Paul C. Elliott
Seattle
