TIME: Why Rand Paul Was Right to Oppose Laser-Pointer Law
How extreme is freshman Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the libertarian darling of the Tea Party? On Thursday, Feb. 3, he was the only Senator to oppose a proposed amendment making it a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an airplane, taking a lonely stand with the idiots who try to distract pilots 35,000 ft. (10,000 m) up in the sky. After the 96-1 vote, Paul said the problem could be "adequately handled and prosecuted at the state level."
Of course he'll take the usual Washington abuse for ignoring senatorial groupthink, but Paul was actually right to vote no. As the old saying goes: You don't have to make a federal case of it. And I'll out-extreme the extremist: States shouldn't be legislating solutions to the laser-pointer menace either.