As New Yorkers drive out to the beaches and upstate parks to celebrate Memorial Day, they face the prospect of waiting in long lines at a roadblock so that Governor Pataki’s state troopers can hand them a ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt. It seems that the once-proud Empire State has joined a nationwide program called “Click It or Ticket.” From May 20 through June 2, heavily armed officers will be manning checkpoints to force compliance with seatbelt laws. Unbuckled New Yorkers face fines of up to $50 plus $35 in court costs. During a 10-day period last year, according to the Web site of the New York State Police, 47,725 drivers were issued tickets under a similar program called “Buckle Up New York.” The charges were either failing to wear a seatbelt or failing to properly restrain a child. The picture accompanying this editorial, showing motorists being interrogated by officers, was sent out by Mr. Pataki’s Traffic Safety Committee to promote the seatbelt check program. The state’s Web site claims that compliance has risen to 88.3% from 83%. Though we’re in favor of obeying the law and the officers are only doing the job the politicians have assigned them, we find the picture to be a sad portrait. Our nation fought five valiant wars in the last century alone. It is at this moment in the midst of a desperate struggle against the enemies of freedom. And this is what the politicians of New York State have the police doing on the day of remembrance, making sure that New Yorkers don’t get to exercise their own judgment about how to protect themselves and their families while driving to the beach.