5 Laws Colorado Should Be First to Pass After Right to Repair
We've previously discussed how Colorado was poised to become the first U.S. state to adopt a "right to repair" law. Well, in the time since that previous conversation, we've gone from being "poised" to "yep, we done did it," after Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law. This particular legislation does solely apply to Colorado farmers, and is quite narrow in its scope, which I've pointed out previously.
That being said, it's still a big step in the right direction for those who want to fix their own equipment without additional hassle.
With the reminder that governments can actually make laws in the forefront of our minds right now, we can also use this as symbolic motivation to write some of these other things down:
Right to Forbear
Seriously, there should be a law that says that I don't have to do what I don't want to do. Granted, that doesn't take away your job's right to stop paying you if you don't go to work, but I think it's worth it in the long run. We can call it an exercise in impulse control, which is, coincidentally, the exact definition of the word forbear. What are the odds?
Right to Ensnare
In the name of home protection, you should be able to set non-lethal traps on your property, so long as you post a clear sign that says so. Again, nothing that would cause any serious injury to anyone because that's not cool, but if you can rig up an Elmer Fudd-style wabbit trap that actually works, you should be able to put it to use.
Right to Compare
It's not every store that has some kind of price match guarantee. In fact, I think most of them don't, but they should. I mean, we're a society that values the consumer, right? Why not force these stores to give us their stock at a price that we get to decide? Sure, that flies in the face of the very notion of how our economy works, but I never said these laws had to make sense.
Right to Ric Flair
Speaking of which; I in no way advocate for violence, but it can't be denied that sometimes, people are going to get into fistfights. It just happens. Why not mitigate the damage? Let's make one-on-one altercations legal, but on the condition that these battles are fought solely through knife-edged chops, the signature strike of professional wrestling legend "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Not only will it give these Neanderthals a method for settling their disputes, but it will also be hilarious for any passers-by.
Right to Disrepair
Technically, I don't think this is illegal, but it never hurts to write things down for future reference. Hence: you should be able to destroy your own stuff. I feel like that goes without saying; you did buy the thing, after all. However, you'd be surprised how many of your neighbors look at you funny when you can't figure out how to fly the remote helicopter you got for Christmas, get mad, and then take a sledgehammer to it in your backyard. Is that just me?
Got any fun ideas of your own? Let us know what you think ought to be legal with AppChat.
In the meantime, brush up on some of the sillier laws that are already on the books in Colorado in the gallery below.