We are all pinheads — according to the world's self-proclaimed arbiter of pinheadedness.
On Friday, Fox News commentator and moral watchdog Bill O'Reilly declared the voters of Washington and Colorado his 2013 "Pinheads Of The Year" for legalizing recreational marijuana. That vote, he argued, makes pot accessible to our children, which "will lead to more children sampling the drug, and 20 percent of American children who try marijuana become addicted to it."
Actually, O' Reilly's timing is a little off. Washington voters legalized marijuana (56 to 46 percent) in November of 2012, the same month (and year) that Colorado voters did the same (54 to 46 percent).
As for corrupting minors, O'Reilly neglected to mention that smoking pot is still illegal in both states for people under 21, meaning our kids will have to get their pot the same time-honored way they get their beer and marijuana now: illegally, behind their parents' backs. But O'Reilly may be relieved to know that University of Washington researchers report that teen drinking and smoking dropped between 1999 and 2009.
The Fox News superstar has already inveighed (several times) against gay marriage — legalized by Washingtonians in 2012 — arguing that same-sex unions are a kind of gateway drug to nuptials between humans and turtles, ducks, goats and dolphins. So far, there is no record of Washingtonians attempting to marry outside their species, though, in fairness to O'Reilly, one Capitol Hill woman did try to cross the organic-inorganic chasm in 2012.
So far, 18 states, eight tribes and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. We can't say whether other states may join the marijuana Pinheads club, but as O'Reilly would surely attest, it is a slippery slope.
Note: You can find a longer clip from the discussion on the Bill O'Reilly website in a segment titled "Pinheads of 2013."
