Metahuman Weapons Restrictions bill support grows
WASHINGTON - The Senate was rocked today when Sen. Neptune Perkins, D-Hawaii, insinuated that he had enough votes to pass the controversial McCain-Perkins Metahuman Weapons Restrictions bill should it come to a floor vote.
The bill - long thought dead as Republican leaders criticized its potential impact on national security and many Democrats preferred to concentrate political capital on domestic affairs - has developed a slowly growing following, attracting an odd collection of anti-war activists seeking to limit the use of what Perkins calls “Human Weapons of Mass Destruction” in combat, and members of the Christian Right, opposed to genetic experimentation.
“We cannot outlaw metahumans outright,” said Perkins in remarks on the Senate floor, “but that does not mean that it is wise to create them outright.”
A Pentagon spokesperson said there were no records of the U.S. government creating superhumans, although Amnesty International and other groups have claimed experiments have occurred in secret, off and on, since World War II. The international human rights organization says such programs also exist in several countries, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.
A spokesperson for President Luthor declined to comment, saying the President had not yet seen the text of the bill.
“Metahumans are not going away,” said Perkins. “There will always be cosmic rays, chemical accidents and the like which will grant humans powers. There will always be genetic mutations. This is simply an act of God.
But we cannot, cannot put ourselves in God’s shoes. Neither the u.S. government nor its corporations should be in the business of creating superhumans.
A spokesperson for Perkins’ office said that, should the bill be passed into law, the next step would be to force an international treaty and creating an international watchdog group, possibly through the U.N., to prevent human experimentation for the purposes of creating metahumans.
Previous, broader efforts to regulate metahumans have failed, and Perkins himself was once greatly embarrassed in his efforts to control the activities of the now-defunct superhero team, Young Justice.
"This isn't about controlling super-heroes," said Perkins. "This is about preventing a new arms race."
The bill - long thought dead as Republican leaders criticized its potential impact on national security and many Democrats preferred to concentrate political capital on domestic affairs - has developed a slowly growing following, attracting an odd collection of anti-war activists seeking to limit the use of what Perkins calls “Human Weapons of Mass Destruction” in combat, and members of the Christian Right, opposed to genetic experimentation.
“We cannot outlaw metahumans outright,” said Perkins in remarks on the Senate floor, “but that does not mean that it is wise to create them outright.”
A Pentagon spokesperson said there were no records of the U.S. government creating superhumans, although Amnesty International and other groups have claimed experiments have occurred in secret, off and on, since World War II. The international human rights organization says such programs also exist in several countries, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.
A spokesperson for President Luthor declined to comment, saying the President had not yet seen the text of the bill.
“Metahumans are not going away,” said Perkins. “There will always be cosmic rays, chemical accidents and the like which will grant humans powers. There will always be genetic mutations. This is simply an act of God.
But we cannot, cannot put ourselves in God’s shoes. Neither the u.S. government nor its corporations should be in the business of creating superhumans.
A spokesperson for Perkins’ office said that, should the bill be passed into law, the next step would be to force an international treaty and creating an international watchdog group, possibly through the U.N., to prevent human experimentation for the purposes of creating metahumans.
Previous, broader efforts to regulate metahumans have failed, and Perkins himself was once greatly embarrassed in his efforts to control the activities of the now-defunct superhero team, Young Justice.
"This isn't about controlling super-heroes," said Perkins. "This is about preventing a new arms race."