Optional helmet use

This is in response to Stephen King’s Oct. 16 guest column.

I am a 22-year-old married man with two children. I am also a motorcycle enthusiast. I have been in many accidents (in which I was not wearing a helmet) and luckily I walked away from each one. I have also had a helmet save my life by withstanding my head hitting the curb at 50 mph and cracking in half. I now feel strongly that helmets should be worn and shall teach my children that the helmet is a part of the motorcycle.

However, mandating an experienced motorcyclist to wear a helmet is a terrifying erosion of one’s personal freedom.

In a time when we have major problems such as no jobs, no energy policy, no environmental commitment, why must we insist on making criminals out of victimless activities such as helmet and seat-belt laws, mandatory insurance with no cap on cost, death for humane reasons, and marijuana posession? Curtis Knodsen Columbia Falls