How common is this, really? Are parents in the US being regularly harassed for minor things like in the article? I'm not trying to discredit this person's story, but it's easy to believe that this is an "issue" when everything is anecdotal.
I also feel like I have read this exact article about 3 years ago.
EDIT: Oh, of course, I remembered this article by the same writer: https://www.salon.com/2014/06/03/the_day_i_left_my_son_in_th...
In some ways, I think the 4 year old article was better.
In Illinois, it's illegal it keep children ages 6 and under in a vehicle unattended for more than 10 minutes. Someone 14 years or older must either accompany or be within eyesight of them.
These laws largely exist because of advocacy groups such as Kids 'n Cars[1] whose founders often had children who died while unattended in vehicles and they want to "save" other parents.
As a parent myself, I think these rules are absolutely bonkers. Kids might be less safe these days in hot cars because windows are now automatic and not manual, but there's likely a technical solution to that problem that does not require jailing anyone or ripping families apart because they ran in to get a coffee.
> Cops don't [...]. But [govt agency] can do whatever they want.
It seems to me as-if there aren't many real freedoms beyond the first one.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/us/black-white-police.htm...