Dear Editor,
The U.S. Constitution was written not by God but by men. Slavery was permitted. Slaves counted as three-fifths of a human being. Neither slaves nor women could vote. Later Congress used its power to change these and many other things which needed change.
The Founding Fathers wrote the "Vehicle Amendment" which stated: "Congress shall not restrict ownership or use of vehicles." As we know, vehicles are useful, pleasurable... and deadly in the wrong hands. With no restrictions on sale or use of vehicles there was a deluge of deadly accidents caused by drivers who were not trained and/or had mental problems. Also vehicles were often use in the commission of crimes.
To solve these problems, Congress tried to pass laws to require driver training, licensing, and background checks on all drivers. Also, it wanted registration of all vehicles so that police could track down vehicles used in crimes.
The National Vehicle Association (NVA), the lobby for the industry, vigorously opposed all these measures. NVA boss, Payne N. Laderriere started an ad campaign with two themes: "I'm the NVA and I vote" and "If vehicles are outlawed, only outlaws will have vehicles". Also TV ads featured actor Charlaton Preston who said "If jack-booted government thugs try to take my vehicle, they will have to pry the steering wheel from my cold dead hands." The NVA stressed that "vehicles don't kill people, people kill people." More accurately, people with vehicles kill people.
Of course the government did not want to take anybody's vehicle. It just wanted to put reasonable restrictions on ownership and use to protect the public. The NVA wanted no restrictions whatsoever to protect industry sales and profits. The NVA put pressure on Congress by using campaign contributions and threats to support opponents of any member of Congress who supported any restrictions on vehicles or owners. Other civilized nations have passed reasonable restrictions and they have a vehicle death rate that's a small fraction or ours. They think we are insane for allowing this free-for-all.
With the power of the NVA it seems like there will never be sufficient restrictions on vehicle ownership or use to reduce the death toll. The killing will go on with no end in sight.
R. B. Williams