More Safety Laws for Pools Opposed

A group of people in our community has formed a foundation concerned with child drownings in home swimming pools--an admirable concern. However, I feel that their movement is slightly misdirected.

The recent incidents of child drownings all could have been prevented with proper supervision; however, only some have been prevented by additional fencing. In my opinion, current laws/codes in most cities are more than adequate to prevent accidental intrusion into our yards. Naturally, these codes should be strongly enforced, but any additional safeguards should be entirely up to the individual property/pool owner!

Most pool owners I know who have small children are very concerned about pool safety and have developed their own protection policies--some a permanent additional fence, some a movable one, some a cover or net. Regardless, all are aware and concerned.

Additional permanent fencing could be quite expensive, and sometimes terribly inconvenient to use or build, and the codes that might go with it would be very hard to enforce. It also has one other drawback: It would have a gate--one that could be left open or unlocked by a negligent supervisor!

I urge all citizens, pool owner or not, to reject any changes to laws/codes that would require additional permanent fencing. It will not solve any real or envisioned problem, nor will it bring any child back that has been lost to a tragic back-yard swimming pool accident. And it certainly won’t erase the guilt that some people obviously must feel.

CARL D. BRAUCKSIEK, Anaheim