Horseshoes?
This bill just happened to catch our attention, BR 480 by Representative Travis Brenda (R) that would place fines on an animal drawn vehicle that is drawn by an animal that is wearing shoes that damage the roadway. Now the only people we can think of that fit that description are the Amish. What kind of horseshoes could cause damage to the roadways? Apparently spiked or cleated horseshoes. If you are like us, you are probably wondering why horseshoes have cleats on them, are these soccer or football playing horses? Well we looked into it and it turns out that the cleats are needed for traction on the roadways in the winter months when the roadways are bad.
How does one arrives at the conclusion that the Amish cleated horses are causing enough damage to the roadways to warrant penalties, but Representative Travis has. So here are the penalties, $25 for the first offense and $50 for every subsequent offense and the money is to be sent to the road fund. Is the road fund really in such bad shape that you have to fine Amish people on the off chance they decide to get out on a cold winter day that was so bad out that it warranted cleats on their horses. The penalties don't seem that steep so one might not care, but every time they need to go out on a cold winter day, 2nd offense on they run the risk of paying $50. We have oversized loads and heavy equipment and other various instruments that somehow make it onto the roadways that are surely causing more damage than cleated horses on the ice.
If one truly believes that Amish cleated horses in the winter are causing that much damage maybe they should have a conversation with them instead of a bill that penalizes them that they probably won't know about until they hit the roads because they are technologically averse, and would be unaware of what is happening in Frankfort. The first chance they would probably get to know about it is after a slow speed chase with a Trooper.
This is something we shouldn't be wasting our time on in the legislature, it sounds more like an isolated local issue and government penalization should not be the answer, work with your fellow man. We doubt any Amish will read this, but we publicized this because we feel it is incumbent on the rest of us to defend the minority, for one day one of us may find ourselves in that position.
