The Tyranny of Seat Belt Laws

The only reason I ever set foot in the state of Maryland is to visit my fiancee.  If not for her Maryland would hold no appeal for me.  The state is run by liberals who place all their faith, and as much tax money as they can take out of their resident's paychecks, in an expensive, inefficient, possibly corrupt, nanny state.  (As for corruption see Jack Johnson, Ulysses Currie)
 The state embraces illegal aliens, shuns millionaires(They might be Republicans), and has a welfare system so generous that no rational person would want to leave it.  In effect the safety net is a nice comfy hammock.  The liberals that run the state aren't just evil, they are also smart.  They know that people on welfare make loyal Democrat voters, and the longer they can keep people on welfare the better.  And throw in some voter fraud, you need illegal aliens for that, and the Democrats can't lose. In addition to ideological differences, I don't like the Orioles, Ravens, and I'm not much of a fan of crabs.  But I digress.
Back to our story, over the weekend I was driving through Oxon Hill, going the speed limit, minding my own business, not putting another citizen in any jeopardy, but little did I realize was doing something wrong in the eyes of the nanny state. It seems that I was driving without a seat belt!   An officer peered though my car window, and noticed that I was not wearing a seat belt.  His lights went up, and I pulled over.  He waited in his car for about five minutes, then approached my car slowly keeping his hands near his service revolver.  I suppose being a police officer in one of the nations most violent counties would make anyone nervous.  He explained that I was not wearing a seat belt.  I told him that in Virginia not wearing a seat belt was not a primary offense..but no matter I was in the great nanny state of Maryland, where they decide what is safe and proper, I was in the wrong.  Logic would dictate that I only wronged myself, but no matter I was in violation of their law. Interestingly, after he wrote me up he told me, "there are no points with this ticket."  No points! I thought to myself, than why write me a ticket?  Saying there are no points to the offense is basically an admission that it is a bogus offense!  Even the state of Maryland realizes that not wearing a seat belt is not serious, otherwise it would be worth a few points at least.  However, the law may bring in some money, and who knows it might save a life or two.
Seat belt laws are the ultimate victimless crime.  Who am I hurting by not wearing a seat belt?  And since I am not hurting anyone else, shouldn't I be able to decide whether I wear my seat belt or not?  It is my car, and my seat belt, and my health after all.
Yet the state of Maryland allows the police to pull me over, which is harassment, wastes my time,(pulling me over made me late for my lunch appointment) and picks my pocket.  We know the stated rationale, the state claims they have a compelling interest to protect me from my bad habit of not wearing a seat belt. Now, you may say it is no big deal, or that it is a reasonable law, and my favorite line, "A law we can live with" - Orwell would have loved that one. But if you accept the principle that the government can pass laws to protect us from our own bad habits, than where do we draw the line? I have a lot of bad habits.  Many self destructive.  For example, I like cheeseburgers, I like salt, I like sugar..etc.  There is also a report linking diet soda with heart disease.  These can be bad things for our bodies, and heart disease is one of the nations leading killers.  In fact I'm probably more likely to die of heart disease or a heart attack than in a car accident.  Might the state of Maryland, for the good of its residents of course, consider an additional tax on cheeseburgers, or better yet an outright ban.  Such a ban over time could conceivably cut the rate of heart disease and save more lives than a seat belt law.  Heck, Maryland could fine Wendy's and McDonald for selling cheeseburgers and diet coke'. . opps, I may have given them an idea..
I kind of laughed when I saw the ticket.  It folds into a per-addressed envelope, perfect for sending in the check.
Funding the nanny state is no fun.