Earlier this month, a new bill was presented to the Nebraska Legislature that would ban the use of tanning beds for minors. Currently in the state of Nebraska, anyone over the age of 17 can tan without needing a parent present. For those 16 and under, a parent must sign paperwork in order for their child to tan, and in some cases they must also be present in the tanning salon with their child. This new bill would make it so that no one under the age of 18 would be able to use an indoor tanning bed. The politicians who propose this bill say that they only want to protect young adults from causing long-term damage to their bodies.

My interpretation of this is that people under the age of 18 are not responsible or mature enough to make their own decision about how to treat their skin. They are old enough to have multiple piercings, tattoos (with parent supervision), drive, work, and pay taxes (if employed), but they are not mature enough to tan. This would make it so that you would have to be older to lay in a tanning bed than to operate a car.

While I do not support the bill, there’s always the option for a compromise. Instead of making the legal age 18, make it 16. But, with this they could limit the amount of times you could visit per week, or require a parent signature and presence in the tanning salong while their child is tanning.