It took more than two decades. But it will soon be the law of this state that a police officer can stop a motorist for one reason: not wearing a seat belt.
Year in and year out, the idea known as primary enforcement went nowhere in a state Capitol with a strong libertarian streak. The arguments were familiar: It's the intrusion of Big Brother. Police have better things to do. Lately, African-American legislators voiced concerns that giving police that extra authority would encourage racial profiling.
Three years ago, the cause picked up two new advocates after Vincent and Laura Marchetti of Valrico lost their 16-year-old daughter. Katie Marchetti was killed in a crash on Interstate 75 near Sun City Center in a car being driven by her boyfriend.
Tired, she reclined her seat and unbuckled her seat belt to rest, then died when the car went out of control.
The Marchettis turned their grief into a political crusade and a triumph of personal grass roots lobbying. They teamed up with former Rep. Irv Slosberg of Boca Raton, whose daughter Dori died in a crash. Earlier this week, the Senate joined the House in passing the bill, sending it to Gov. Charlie Crist, who will sign it Wednesday.
The law, passed as Senate Bill 344, is officially the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law.
"We're happy to have our daughter's name on the bill," Laura Marchetti said. "It's something positive that can save lives."
She said people need to remember that when they climb into a car, "their life can be taken away in a second. That's exactly what happened to my daughter. She was not a risk taker."
On Wednesday, after the Senate passed the bill, everyone applauded. "That was an expression of our gratitude for the courage you have pressed on with," Senate President Jeff Atwater told the Marchettis, sitting in the front row of the visitors' gallery that overlooks the chamber.
Atwater told them that "thousands of lives will be saved" as a result of their advocacy. As he spoke, Laura Marchetti and her mother, Dianne Sipe, wiped tears from their eyes.
To Laura Marchetti, it's a source of pride that Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis voted for the bill. Baker, a conservative Republican gun shop owner and Iraq war veteran, is running for agriculture commissioner in 2010.
Baker was so hostile to a primary enforcement seat belt law that when he was chairman of the Transportation Committee a couple of years ago, he refused to even hold a public hearing on the issue, even though dozens of public safety groups, police officers, child safety advocates and others were clamoring for it to be heard.
"I still believe that it's probably not the best policy to have primary enforcement," Baker said. "But the fact is that wearing seat belts does save lives."
As he pushed his green vote-yes button, Baker looked up and made eye contact with the Marchettis. "He looked up at me and smiled, and it came up as a yes vote," Laura Marchetti said. "I was shocked."
Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
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