Last week, amid all the excitement (if that’s the right word) over Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of a right-to-die bill for California, a smaller, quieter — and rhyming — law was also passed. Assembly Bill 1448, nicknamed the “right to dry,” makes it illegal for landlords and homeowners associations to prohibit drying laundry outside on a clothesline or rack.
Of course, as with the right-to-die bill, slippery slope-fueled paranoia can strike deep. Opponents of the End of Life Options Act worried that allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives could lead to doctors playing God or family members hastening the deaths of burdensomely sick or disabled relatives.
The right to dry offers its own cascade of doomsday scenarios. Now that those real estate devaluing eyesores called clotheslines are protected, ratty porch sofas can’t be far off. Then what? Large flocks of…
