Readers React: Registering all drones -- not just the riskiest ones -- doesn’t make sense

To the editor: Thank you for your coverage of the Federal Aviation Administration’s new rule that all drones must be registered starting Dec. 21. (“New drone registration system is a good step toward public safety,” editorial, Dec. 15)

Am I the only one who sees irony in the fact that we now have a federal registry for drones but not one for firearms? I guess 13-year-old kids flying their radio-controlled Christmas toys are a greater threat to overall public safety.

In all seriousness, everyone understands the FAA’s need to design regulations to protect against the problem of drones interacting with aircraft, but that needs to be done carefully and sensibly. Perhaps registration should be mandated only for drones that weigh above six pounds or are flown above 400 feet or out of the user’s line of sight.

Otherwise, blunt regulatory requirements like the ones just promulgated divorce the law from common sense.

Steve Calandrillo, Seattle

The writer is a professor at the University of Washington School of Law.

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