The USSA fedgov certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on legislative stupidity, but all the same it’s a bit surprising to see that a few states are apparently trying very hard to match its record. And they have arguably succeeded.

Record shops: Used CDs? Ihre papieren, bitte!, published yesterday at Ars Technica tells the sad story [emphasis mine]:

There are a few things lawmakers have decided really ought to be handled with the "care and oversight" that only the government can provide: e.g., tax collection, radioactive materials, biohazards, guns, and CDs. CDs? No, I'm not talking about financial Certificates of Deposit, though that might make more sense. I'm talking about Compact Discs.

New "pawn shop" laws are springing up across the United States that will make selling your used CDs at the local record shop something akin to getting arrested. No, you won't spend any time in jail, but you'll certainly feel like a criminal once the local record shop makes copies of all of your identifying information and even collects your fingerprints. Such is the state of affairs in Florida, which now has the dubious distinction of being so anal about the sale of used music CDs that record shops there are starting to get out of the business of dealing with used content because they don't want to pay a $10,000 bond for the "right" to treat their customers like criminals. ....

In Florida, Utah, and soon in Rhode Island and Wisconsin, selling your used CDs to the local record joint will be more scrutinized than then [sic] getting a driver's license in those states.

The entire article is short, and well worth a clickthrough. More idiocy under the idea of protecting “intellectual” property, to be sure, but that train done left the station and is chugging at full steam now. And yes, it is absolutely reprehensible that someone wanting to sell used CDs in these four states is going to be fingerprinted for the privilege of doing so. But, didja catch this little aside in the article? [link (also worth reading), italics in original]:

John Mitchell, outside counsel for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, told Billboard that this is part of "some sort of a new trend among states to support second-hand-goods legislation." And he expects it to grow.

Those laws are also referred to as “pawn-shop laws”; and if one reads the Billboard article one will note that this legislation seems to be focused very specifically on music CDs, rather than including other electronic media such as video games. Very curious, that. But what might happen to a Florida music lover who wants to sell a bunch of CDs at her garage sale? Is she exempt from fingerprinting herself, etc.?

Wondering about that also set me to wondering how long it’ll take for states to see this as a way to insinuate its sticky fingers into all secondhand goods sales. Laugh if you want, but the way all levels of government are trending – and spending – right now, I can see it happening. And it’s an ugly, ugly sight.