A lawmaker in Vermont introduced a bill in the state Senate that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to use or possess a cell phone. State Senator John Rodgers said that young people are not mature enough to have a cell phone, and suggested the devices are just as dangerous as drinking alcohol. The bill points out that distracted driving is one of the leading killers of teenagers in the state.
“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,” the bill says.
The bill warned that many adolescents use their phones to access social media, where they can bully their peers or be recruited by terrorists.
“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 bill reads.
While the bill brings up some serious points, Rodgers does not believe it will pass, and even suggested that he would likely vote against it.
“I have no delusions that it’s going to pass. I wouldn’t probably vote for it myself,” he told the Barre Montpelier Times Argus.
Rodgers said that he introduced the bill to prove a point after the state passed a law in 2018, raising the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21. He told the paper that he feels like the Legislature “seems bent on taking away our Second Amendment rights.”
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